WASHINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – While he has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s plans for a border wall, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement he is against closing the border to slow the flow of South American migrants and asylum seekers.

“Closing the border to legal commerce would be devastating to Texas. Millions of jobs, in Texas and across the country, depend upon trade with Mexico, and the federal government shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize those jobs,” Sen. Cruz said.

“Of course, we should secure the border. We must. Our broken immigration system and years of unwillingness to secure our southern border has produced a security and humanitarian crisis. Human traffickers, drug traffickers, and criminal cartels are responsible for suffering and misery and death. And Democratic obstructionism—fueled by a partisan hatred for President Trump—has blocked Congress from fixing the problem.”

Sen. Cruz said the answer should not involve punishing people who legally cross the border each day and others who would be impacted economically, like farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small business owners.

“Closing legal points of entry would harm American commerce and legal transit between Mexico and the United States, and leave coyotes and human traffickers to roam free in the wilderness of our unsecured border.

“It is time for Democrats in Congress to finally do their jobs. We must build a wall, enforce the laws currently on the books, and support the brave men and women of the CBP with all the resources they need to effectively secure our border. Moreover, the Senate should take up and pass legislation closing loopholes in our asylum system, increasing the number of immigration judges, and providing expedited processing for asylum claims—so that those without who do not qualify for asylum can be quickly returned to their home countries rather than being released into the United States.”