Ted Cruz on Border Crisis: Obama, Reid 'More Interested in Partisan Politics'

HOUSTON, Texas — Unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants are causing federal facilities and resources along the U.S.-Mexico border to become  completely “overwhelmed.” U.S. Border Patrol agents, unable to accommodate the wave of illegal crossers, have started releasing thousands of illegal immigrants onto U.S. soil each week. 

Texas Senator Ted Cruz told Breitbart Texas that President Obama is more interested in partisan politics than trying to solve the pressing situation, which has been labeled a “humanitarian crisis.” 

“If we want to pass common sense immigration reform through Congress that actually fixes the problem, the way to do so is to focus on areas of bipartisan agreement,” Cruz said. “Unfortunately, President Obama and Harry Reid have instead focused on partisan politics and dismissive policies.”

He continued, “That’s why immigration reform is stalled and unlikely to go anywhere. Because sadly and cynically, they have been more interested in partisan politics than in solving the problem.”

Last week Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby released leaked photos of children in U.S. processing cells who entered the U.S. illegally and unaccompanied. The photos encapsulated the crisis on the border in relation to young, often unaccompanied crossers. 

In Cruz’s view, this situation could be effectively curbed if the Obama Administration focused on areas of bipartisan agreement surrounding immigration. 

He said, “There is overwhelming bipartisan support of a great many aspects of the immigration debate.”

“Number one, there is overwhelming bipartisan support outside of Washington that we need to finally, finally, finally secure our borders, enforce our laws, and stop the problem of illegal immigration,” the senator continued. “But that’s not going to happen as long as the president of the United States is ordering more border patrol officers not to enforce the law.”

“Secondly,” Cruz concluded, “I think there is substantial bipartisan agreement outside of Washington that we need to improve and streamline our legal immigration system. There is no stronger advocate of legal immigration in the U.S. Senate than I am. And in my view, we need to remain a nation that doesn’t only welcome–but celebrates–legal immigrants. Or as President Reagan called them, ‘Americans by choice.'”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.