Bloomberg
By Sahil Kapur
January 5, 2016
Ted
Cruz is trying to trump Donald Trump on immigration. While campaigning
this week in Iowa, where he's leading the polls ahead of that state's
Feb. 1 presidential caucuses,
Cruz suggested he'll be tougher on people in the U.S. illegally than
his rival for the Republican nomination.
"There's
a difference," Cruz told a questioner at an event in Boone. "He's
advocated allowing folks to come back in and become citizens. I oppose
that." The remark was
caught on video and first reported by BuzzFeed.
Trump,
who saw his standing in the Republican contest rise over the summer
after endorsing mass deportation of the estimated 11 million
undocumented immigrants, told CNN
in July he'd let the "good ones" back in legally through an "expedited
process."
"Legal
status," he said at the time. "We got to move 'em out, we're going to
move 'em back in if they're really good people." That would be a change
to U.S. immigration
law, which requires people who are deported to wait up to 20 years
before being allowed to return legally, and in some cases face a
permanent ban. Trump's campaign didn't immediately return a request for
comment on Cruz's remarks.
Cruz
spokeswoman Catherine Frazier made no attempt to walk back the remarks
of her boss, the son of a Cuban immigrant. "The senator's plan calls for
enforcing the law
especially with regard to deportations," she said in an e-mail. "Same
goes for not allowing those who have come here illegally to become
citizens."
The
Monday exchange in Boone began with a questioner noting, "You and
Donald Trump are really strong on immigration, but he supports deporting
all the illegal immigrants—are
you willing to say the same?"
Cruz responded, "Absolutely, yes. We should enforce the law."
When the man asked again if that meant "all" unauthorized immigrants, Cruz said, "We should enforce the law."
Cruz
continued a week-long bus tour through Iowa on Tuesday while Trump is
scheduled to rally supporters in Claremont, New Hampshire, on Tuesday
evening.
Cruz's
attempt to out-Trump Trump on immigration is the latest indication of
the GOP's dramatic rightward shift on the issue that has loomed large in
a roller-coaster
presidential race. Cruz recently turned against key legal immigration
programs and ruled out legalization of undocumented immigrants as he
sought to draw a contrast between relatively pro-immigration rival Marco
Rubio, who is running third nationally.
It
also underscores the shifting relationship between the brash New York
real estate developer and the Texan as they find themselves vying for
the lead in the Republican
presidential race four weeks before the first votes of the nominating
contest are cast in Iowa. Initially, the two avoided criticizing each
other; they held a tet a tete in Trump's offices and shared a stage at a
Washington rally. But that has changed.
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