Texas senator and Republican presidential candidate nominee, Ted Cruz, has refused to rule out offering legal status to the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently believed to be living in the United States, saying that it is only after the border is secure that he will further elaborate on his plans regarding immigration.
Cruz seems to be trying to find a middle ground between fellow candidates Donald Trump, who wants all undocumented immigrants in the United States to be forcibly deported, and Marco Rubio, who was one of the Gang of Eight behind the Senate bill for comprehensive immigration reform that would have offered undocumented immigrants a path to US citizenship. Cruz released an immigration plan on Friday that did not mention legalization; however, he maintains that his stance has always been the same.
“The only people I’m under fire from are reporters who want to throw rocks,” Cruz mocked while acknowledging that all that is called for in his own plan is a national “conversation” about undocumented immigrants, without any specific plans. “First we secure the borders,” he says. “First we demonstrate that we can solve this problem so that the flow of those coming into this country will drop effectively to zero.”
Cruz also added that the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States would fall if the E-Verify system, which enables employers to check on their employees’ legal status, is strengthened. He believes that if they were unable to find work, many undocumented immigrants would simply leave the country voluntarily.