Appearing on the Andrea Tantaros Show today, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called the Rubio-Schumer immigration bill a “mess.” That’s the same bill that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has said is “95% perfect,” while acknowledging and having no answer for flaws in the bill, such as its unfair treatment of U.S. citizens who break several laws when compared to illegal aliens. In effect, the bill makes crime pay for illegal aliens who break laws against such things as drunk driving, domestic abuse, and identity theft.

Cruz also addressed the claim made by some in the GOP, which is that it must pass this bill in order to increase its share of the Hispanic vote to remain competitive nationally.

“A lot of Republicans right now are listening to DC political consultants that after the last election, have told them ‘Gosh, the only way you can get re-elected is if you go along with the Democrat on a big amnesty bill’,” Cruz said. He called that idea “complete bunk.”

“I was just elected in the state of Texas, a majority minority state, with an enormous Hispanic population. I was very proud to receive support of over 40% of Hispanic voters in Texas. And I was very clear campaigning that, on immigration, my view was that we should not be doing an amnesty bill. We should secure the borders first.” Cruz defeated sitting Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the GOP primary despite being outspent and starting the race with virtually no statewide name recognition.

Cruz added: “I think it is offensive for the DC political consultants to say that the key to the Hispanic vote is just to buy them off with amnesty.” Sen. Cruz noted that an identical argument was made to Republicans leading up to the 1986 amnesty. After it passed and Republican President Ronald Reagan signed it into law, however, the Republican share of the Hispanic vote actually went down.

Cruz urged grassroots Americans to call their senators and urge them to oppose the Rubio-Schumer bill. He said that 20 Republican senators are on the fence and could be persuaded to vote against the bill. A final Senate vote may happen at the end of this week. He detailed how the bill will increase the power of ObamaCare over the U.S. economy, hurting American companies and workers.



Tantaros asked Cruz if he plans to filibuster the bill to delay the vote and give Americans more time to study it, but Cruz answered that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is unlikely to give anyone the opportunity to filibuster. Reid is keeping a tight grip on the Senate ahead of the vote.

Tantaros asked Cruz whether Democrats support the immigration bill in order to bring in more Hispanic voters and turn Texas into a Democratic state. That would give Democrats a lock on power in Washington.

Cruz responded: “I think there is absolutely a partisan political goal on behalf of the Senate Democrats who are pushing this on behalf of the White House. The most clarifying moment of the entire debate was in the Senate Judiciary Committee markup, where Chuck Schumer said ‘If there is no citizenship, there can be no reform.’ And he made clear that he had one overarching partisan political goal. And everything else was irrelevant to him.”

Cruz said that “you’ve got a bunch of Republicans that are scared,” and they are the ones pushing the immigration bill which will end up helping Democrats create more votes for themselves.

Cruz also offered simple advice for President Obama on Syria: “Don’t give weapons to people who hate us.” Al-Qaeda and affiliate Islamist groups are leading the rebellion against Bashar Assad, and President Obama has announced that the U.S. will begin arming some rebel groups.

When Tantaros asked Cruz to describe Obama in one word, he unhesitatingly offered “feckless.”

Listen to the entire interview here.

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The Andrea Tantaros Show is produced by the Fox and Rice Experience for Talk Radio Network.

Also read: GOP Base Isn’t Down with the Rubio-Schumer Bill and Rubio’s Office: ‘Absolutely No’ Free Cars Included in Immigration Bill