Fusion and Univision host Jorge Ramos told GOP presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz “you might have a Latino problem” and “many people don’t understand, why Senator, if you’re the son of an immigrant…why don’t you try to help 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in this country?” on Tuesday’s broadcast of Fusion’s “America with Jorge Ramos.”
Ramos asked Cruz “do you think that you have a Latino problem?” Cruz responded by pointing to his numbers among Hispanic voters when he ran for the Senate in Texas. Ramos objected that “Only 24% of Latinos would consider voting for you. So, that means that you might have a Latino problem. Because you’re not for a path to citizenship.” Cruz again turned to his numbers in Texas, which Ramos countered by saying those were just one state’s numbers and not nationwide. Ramos continued by saying that because Cruz is against a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and the president’s executive action, Latino voters “are concerned.”
Cruz answered that one of the reasons people come to the United States is the rule of law, and that “what Barack Obama is doing is what dictators in other nations have done –.”
Ramos told Cruz “But, many people don’t understand, why Senator, if you’re the son of an immigrant, of a Cuban-American, why don’t you try to help 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in this country, who are just immigrants like your dad?” Cruz answered that “there is no stronger advocate of legal immigration in the US Senate than I am.”
Cruz then turned to the Latino media, which he argued doesn’t give conservatives a fair shake, and specifically criticized its lack of discussion of the impact of the Obama economy on the Hispanic community. Ramos said that those issues are important, but unless he deals with immigration first, many Latinos won’t even listen to him.
Cruz then asked Ramos if he believed President Obama is trying to solve the problems with immigration. Ramos answered by pointing to the president’s support of the Gang of Eight bill, and that “many Latinos are upset with you, because they think you aren’t fighting for them enough” because he opposed the bill.
Cruz answered that “rule of law matters” and asked Ramos why, since Mexico deports people who cross into their country illegally, the US shouldn’t enforce its laws. Ramos responded, “It’s not enforcing, they come here because…we benefit from their work and because there are thousands of American companies hiring them. So, it’s also our responsibility, I think.”
Cruz then shifted to Obamacare and its impact on immigrants, Hispanics, and others. Later, he said that immigration reform should focus on bipartisan solutions such as border security and streamlining the legal immigration system. He turned back to President Obama’s sincerity in wanting to solve the immigration problem and pointed out President Obama failed to pass immigration reform despite having a large majority in Congress after the 2008 elections, Ramos admitted that Obama “didn’t keep his promise.” Cruz argued that Obama did so because he isn’t really trying to solve the problem, but is simply “misleading the Hispanic community.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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