Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Amanda House, host of Breitbart News Sunday on SiriusXM, that Beto O’Rourke, his Democrat challenger, prioritizes the welfare of illegal aliens over American citizens.
Cruz also had a message “to the Breitbart listeners”: “If you’re in Texas, election day is Tuesday. If you have not voted already, it is critical. The hard left is going to show up in massive numbers, so if you want to preserve freedom in Texas, come out and vote on Tuesday.”
House invited Cruz’s comments about a recently published undercover video from Project Veritas of O’Rourke’s campaign staffers discussing the use of campaign resources to assist Central and South America migrant caravans seeking entry to the United States.
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Cruz said, “I think these videos show just how radical and extreme Beto O’Rourke is on immigration. He supports open borders. He has said he is, quote, open to abolishing ICE. He supports sanctuary cities. He opposes Kate’s Law; as you know, I’m the author of Kate’s Law in the Senate.
Cruz added, “Beto O’Rourke has carefully avoided saying anything about the caravan. The reporters who travel with him are like this gentle cocoon who wrap their arms around and protect him. … [He believes] all ten thousand of these people marching in the caravan should be allowed to march into Texas, should be allowed to march in and cross the border illegally. If he said that publicly, he knows that is inconsistent with the views and values of Texans.”
Cruz continued, “His campaign staffers, their priority is helping people coming illegally to this country, rather than standing up for the rule of law and standing up for the people of Texas.”
Cruz remarked, “[Beto O’Rourke] is a radical on immigration. … [He] has proposed decriminalizing crossing the border illegally. That would mean it is the very definition of open borders. That would mean if Beto O’Rourke got his proposal passed, it would mean that the caravan could march right across the Rio Grande, could cross illegally, and they would not have committed a crime.”
Cruz went on to say, “That is by definition opening up our borders. That’s not what the people of Texas want. It’s not what the American people want. We want to secure our border. Beto O’Rourke, from his time in Congress, has made it a priority to fight for illegal aliens.”
Cruz concluded, “Beto O’Rourke and the modern Democratic Party have gotten radical and extreme in support of open borders and illegal immigration.”
Cruz supports President Donald Trump’s call for ending birthright citizenship.
“I agree with President Trump that birthright citizenship is a policy that doesn’t make any sense,” assessed Cruz. “I have long supported ending birthright citizenship. Most of the countries on Earth don’t grant automatic citizenship. If you’re another country and have a child, in most of the countries on Earth, that child is not automatically a citizen. It’s not a policy that makes sense because it is a policy that incentivizes illegal immigration. It encourages people to come into this country illegally. So I agree we should change it.”
Cruz noted disagreement between legal experts over avenues to ending birthright citizenship, saying, “Ultimately, the courts will resolve this issue. We should not have policies in place that are encouraging illegal immigration.”
Cruz said O’Rourke has deployed racial rhetoric in deriding law enforcement.
“Beto O’Rourke has accused police officers in the state of Texas of being “The New Jim Crow,” said Cruz. “That kind of racial demonizing of law enforcement is bad for this country. It’s not true. It’s a lie. He’s essentially called police officers racists and bigots.”
Cruz added, “He alleged that Texas police officers are stopping people solely based on their race, are searching people solely based on their race, and are shooting people solely based on their race. … That is a lie. To wrongly attack police officers is a sign of where the far-left is going.”
Cruz cast O’Rourke as ideologically aligned with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
“[Beto O’Rourke] is running a hard-left campaign,” Cruz stated. “He is running like Elizabeth Warren. He is running like Bernie Sanders, but despite the fact that he’s running so far left, he is the number one Democratic fundraiser in the country. He has raised over $70 million, which is the most ever raised in the history of any Senate race in the state of Texas, and he is outraising and outspending our campaign three to one.”
Cruz contrasted the fundraising and spending of his and O’Rourke’s campaigns.
Cruz noted, “My campaign has a total of 18 paid campaign staffers in the entire state of Texas. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign has 805 paid campaign staffers. That’s what happens when you raise $70 million.”
The Real Clear Politics average of polls has Cruz holding a 6.5 point lead over O’Rourke.
Breitbart News Sunday broadcasts live on SiriusXM Patriot channel 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern or 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter.
Amanda House is Breitbart News’ Deputy Political Editor. You can follow her on Twitter at @AmandaLeeHouse and Instagram.
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