Stop Obama’s Amnesty to Stop the Border Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today introduced legislation to prevent the Obama Administration from using any taxpayer funds to expand DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and from continuing to lawlessly grant amnesty and work permits to new immigrants who enter the country illegally. He also outlined guiding principles that Congress should keep in mind when considering reforms.
 
“We all recognize the terrible humanitarian crisis that is occurring at the border, and all of us should come together to end the policies that have caused it,” said Sen. Cruz. “Tens of thousands of children are being smuggled into the United States by dangerous drug cartels and transnational gangs; it is heartless to allow that to continue."
 
He added, “The staggering conditions that children are being subjected to are a direct result of the amnesty that President Obama illegally and unilaterally enacted in 2012, which caused the number of unaccompanied minors to skyrocket. The only way to stop the border crisis is to stop President Obama’s amnesty. If we do not put an end to its expansion – to the promise of amnesty that is the reason so many are coming – then more little boys and girls will be trafficked, abused, and even killed. We have an obligation to make sure that not one more child is hurt by this president’s lawlessness.”
 
Going forward, Sen. Cruz will urge three legislative reforms to stem the flow of illegal immigration, reunite immigrants who arrived here illegally with family in their home nations, and protect the southern border.
 
Since his unilateral action in 2012 to implement DACA, the numbers of children arriving in the U.S. illegally – transported by dangerous criminals and drug cartels eager to exploit President Obama’s amnesty – predictably exploded:

• In 2011, approximately 6,000 unaccompanied minors came to the United States.
• In 2012, when President Obama issued DACA, the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in the United States rose to 14,000.
• In 2013, the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in the United States rose to 34,000.
• In 2014, Customs and Border Protection estimate 90,000 unaccompanied minors may be apprehended.
• In 2014, the Obama Administration has stated it expects 145,000 unaccompanied minors to enter the United States.

Next week, Sen. Cruz plans to introduce additional legislation, to include the bill filed today, that will remove the current legal obstacles to humanely and expeditiously reuniting these minors with their families back home, and also to authorize governors to respond to crises like this by sending the National Guard to the border with arrest authority and at federal expense.

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