Senator Ted Cruz, (R-TX) on Thursday raged at a reporter who asked what Republicans have done to prevent illegal immigration at the southern border ahead of the expiration of Title 42 after Cruz blamed President Joe Biden for the border crisis.
During a press conference in Brownsville, Texas, Cruz blamed the Biden administration for the large number of illegal crossing and migrant arrests hours before the immigration restrictions known as Title 42.
He then lashed out at a the reporter, accusing him of telling “lies” about the rate of illegal immigration during the Biden administration.
“Let me ask you something, what rate of illegal immigration did we have in 2020? Do you know anything?” Cruz asked the reporter.
The reporter then asked how long the Texas senator has been in office for, to which Cruz replied 11 years.
“You asked your question, you want to hold a press conference, you can do it over there,” Cruz shouted. “The talking point of the Democrats, which this media reporter happily parrots, is, ‘gosh, the problem can’t be fixed.’ There’s one little problem with that. It is an utter and complete lie.”
“In 2020, the last year of the Trump presidency, we had the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. You ask what I have done? I’ve championed the men and women of Border Patrol, I championed securing the border, I Championed Remain in Mexico, and we turned this problem around and solved it,” Cruz added.
“Joe Biden inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years, and the first day in office,” Cruz said. “He made political decisions to cause this problem, and you should be ashamed of yourself. If you’re a reporter, and you’re not reporting facts. You’re telling lies.”
Cruz, however, failed to acknowledge that 2020 was the year of a global pandemic that forced all countries to completely closed their borders, which impacted immigration worldwide.
@tedcruz excoriates reporter for asking what Republicans have done to ease the southern border crisis.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Cruz says, citing the record-low number of crossings during the Trump years. @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/sJFtp8Lpym
— Kaelan Deese (@KaelanDC) May 12, 2023
Ahead of the Title 42 restrictions being lifted, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made “very clear” that “our borders are not open.”
He warned that “People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed.”
“If anyone arrives at our southern border after midnight tonight, they will be presumed ineligible for asylum and subject to steeper consequences for unlawful entry, including a minimum five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution. We have surged 24,000 Border Patrol agents and officers, and thousands of troops, contractors, and over a thousand asylum officers and judges to see this through.”
