Texas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said many Republican candidates are attacking Donald Trump “Because they haven’t been speaking out on the need to secure the border” on Thursday’s broadcast of “The Intelligence Report with Trish Regan” on the Fox Business Network.

“Well, illegal immigration continues to be enormous problem. As you know, I represent Texas. We have roughly 1,200 miles of border with Mexico. We deal will legal immigration every day. We deal with the crime that flows from it. And unfortunately, it’s exacerbated, number one by cities like San Francisco that are sanctuary cities, that give blessings to criminal aliens. But, number two, we deal with the problem that the Obama administration consistently refuses to enforce the laws. For example, in 2013, the Obama administration released over 36,000 criminal aliens. It released 116 illegal immigrants with homicide convictions.”

He continued, “Well, look, there is a persistent pattern. We see cities, a lot of cities across the country, sometimes with the blessings of their governors, that serve as havens for those who are here illegally. But the problem is exacerbated, you know I’ve spent a lot of time down on the border in Texas, visiting with Border Patrol agents, visiting with local law enforcement, I’ll tell you, their morale is low because the Obama administration tells them not to enforce the law.”

Cruz added, “sanctuary cities are wrong. I have joined with my colleague Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) in legislation would bar any federal funds going to a city that is trying to defy federal immigration laws. But point I was trying to make is it’s not just the cities that are defying the law, it’s the federal government. In 2013, the Obama administration released 116 illegal immigrants, who had homicide convictions, who were murders. They released over 15,000 people who had drunk driving convictions. It doesn’t make sense for cities to be harboring violent criminals, to be harboring those who violate our laws, and it doesn’t make sense for the federal government to be releasing violent criminals.”

He then turned to Donald Trump’s comments, arguing, “I got to note, as you know, in this past week, a whole lot of Republicans have run out of their way to smack Donald Trump because he had the temerity to actually speak out about the danger of illegal immigration. And I’ll tell you, we need to solve this problem, and not engage in this doublespeak where we don’t acknowledge the real threats that we face in this country.”

Cruz further declared, “I am proud to stand with Donald Trump. I like him and respect him. And let me point out, there’s a reason why so many Republican 2016 candidates are attacking Trump. Because they haven’t been speaking out on the need to secure the border. Many of those 2016 candidates have been vocal advocates of amnesty, which only increases illegal immigration. I think we need to stand with the working men and women. I think we need to stand with legal immigrants. I am the son of an immigrant who came legally from Cuba. That’s the way our system is supposed to work.”

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