Politics

Congressional Hispanic Caucus: Ted Cruz’s Actions ‘Absolutely Unconscionable’

Tristyn Bloom Contributor
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A member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus called Sen. Ted Cruz’s stance on the migration crisis “absolutely unconscionable” at a press conference Friday.

Florida Rep. Joe Garcia had been asked what he made of the Republican House leadership “trying to accommodate and reassure some of their more conservative members, like Steve King and Michele Bachmann, and also take into account the concerns of some senators like Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions.”

“As a Cuban American who realizes that I have special immigratory rights,” he said, “I am appalled that Senator Cruz, who not only received it from this from this country, but his native Canada–those special migratory rights–leads the charge to strip away people’s rights. It is absolutely unconscionable.” (RELATED: White House Says No Progress On Immigration Until Spending Bill Passes)

Bachmann and King had expressed public skepticism of the migration spending bill proposed by the House earlier this week, which would’ve authorized $659 million in spending to address the influx of Central American minors at the southern border. Cruz had been critical of the bill for not ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals policy, an Obama administration policy that allows some underage immigrants work authorization and deportation relief. (RELATED: Cruz Says Dems Holding Border Children ‘Ransom’ For Immigration Reform)

“The only way to stop the border crisis is to stop Obama’s amnesty,” Cruz said, referring to DACA. “It is disappointing the border security legislation unveiled today does not include language to end Obama’s amnesty.”

The House bill, unpopular on the right and left, was withdrawn Thursday once it became apparent that Speaker John Boehner couldn’t secure the necessary votes. Cruz had hosted a meeting with 13 House Republicans in his D.C. office the night before, including Reps. Bachmann, Todd Rokita, and Marsha Blackburn. (RELATED: Zombie GOP Bill Tried To Sneak Immigration Boost)

“One of the unfortunate things in Washington is how little communication there is between members of House and Senate,” Cruz said last week. “For many months, I’ve been periodically hosting gatherings with House members to discuss issues and challenges of the day and our gathering last night was scheduled several weeks ago.”

Cruz’s influence has sparked a firestorm in the media, prompting headlines like “How Ted Cruz Helped Kill The GOP’s Border Bill,” “Ted Cruz Punks John Boehner Again,” and “Ted Cruz Now Runs Congress,” so it’s not surprising that Garcia jumped at the opportunity to take him down a peg.

“The evidence shows that the crisis at the border is a direct consequence of President Obama’s lawlessness,” Cruz said in a Thursday statement, “and the surge of unaccompanied children trafficked to the United States by drug cartels and transnational gangs will not ebb until Congress restrains the President from taking any further executive action.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was also on hand, saying that the Democrats had “extended the hand of friendship to the Speaker to say let us work together to get this done … instead we have a day where instead of responding to the concerns expressed by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops [sic], the Evangelical Table, the American Bar Association, instead of responding to the objections to this legislation, the Republicans have moved more to the right. Not to the correct, but to the right.”

“Let me put it this way,” Pelosi had said the day before. “The Democrats are not going to enable that [House border] bill to pass. “[Republicans] are going to have to do that on their own.”

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