This is simply not true. Ted Cruz has been a stanch supporter of the fence and brought it up in an amendment to the Gang of Eight effort in 2013:
Cruz 1320: Create border security triggers that can be measured objectively by Congress and provide the resources and capabilities necessary to secure the border.
Before any illegal immigrants could be legalized, DHS is required to:
Triple the number of Border Patrol agents on the southern border;
Quadruple the cameras, sensors, drones, helicopters, and other technology and infrastructure as appropriate
Complete all 700 miles of the fencing required by law in the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Pub, L. 109-367)
Develop a policy assuring real-time sharing of information among all federal law enforcement agencies regarding illegal border activity
Complete and fully implement the US-VISIT system, including the biometric entry-exit portion—as Congress has repeatedly mandated – so we will finally know those present in the country after their visa expires
Establish “operational control” over 100 percent of the southern border.
If DHS fails to substantially comply with any of these trigger requirements within 3 years, the salary of all DHS political appointees would be cut by 20 percent and 20 percent of DHS’s budget would be block granted to the states with the full authority to use those funds to secure the border;
This amendment is required to be fully offset. Either the appropriations committee must identify offsets, or it will be paid for by an automatic, across the board cut to non-defense spending – an approach supported in the past by many Republicans and the White House.
Unfortunately, the current Gang of 8 bill will not secure the border. It grants legal status for those here illegally when DHS simply drafts a plan for securing the border. And it then grants green cards to those individuals when DHS certifies, in its opinion, that the plan has been substantially completed based on subjective criteria. The bill does not require operational control of the entire border and does not provide the resources necessary to truly secure the border.
Yeah, that was absurd on CNN’s part.
Anyone who has paid attention for the past several years knows that Cruz has been a leader on the border. And there are others who share the philosophy as well. In the last go round, I think all candidates were strong on the border. They differed some on other aspects, but they all agreed on the border.
I think most of them will this time too. Jeb and Huck and Christie will be a bit squishy perhaps....but to say Trump is the only one on the border issue? Just pathetic.
Oh I didn’t know that.
Good proposal Senator Cruz.
Don’t tell the Trumpers this...they think he is the only one to come up with these ideas.
This is fairly accurate except Cruz wants to increase the H1-B visas by 500% especially from India and Mexico. His words not mine. Cruz also accepts that the law abiding illegals already here will need to be put on a path to legal status. (not citizenship)
His immigration policy is almost lock step with Trumps except Trump wants to build a wall/fence across the 2,000 or so miles and he is not pushing the H1-B visa increase. Trump wants all jobs going to Americans.
So the two best candidates running for President on the GOP ticket are Cruz and Trump. IMO these two are the only ones who can win a general election agains’t Shrillary. Any of the others and you might as well start practicing saying President Clinton.