Sen. Cruz: ‘The Priority of Today’s Democratic Party is on People Here Illegally, Not on American Workers’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today spoke on the Senate Floor objecting to Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) attempt to pass by unanimous consent H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, which would grant amnesty to millions of DACA recipients. In his remarks, Sen. Cruz condemned the recent Supreme Court decision on DACA and Democrats' focus on those here illegally, instead of on the 44 million American workers who have lost their jobs in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Further, he condemned the rampant trafficking and sexual abuse of children resulting from President Obama's unlawful executive amnesty granted to millions who came here illegally. Sen. Cruz urged the Senate to reject Democratic calls for amnesty because those efforts encourage more trafficking and more abuse, and instead to pass Kate's law - a law that would protect Americans by imposing a mandatory minimum prison sentence on illegal aliens with serious felony convictions who illegally reenter the country.

Watch the full floor speech here. Excerpts are below.

ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOT VALUING AMERICAN WORKERS

"You know, we're right now at a time of crisis in our country. We've got a global pandemic and we have 44 million Americans out of work. This is, on the economic side, the greatest crisis our country has seen since the Great Depression. And yet, what we're seeing in the Senate is a continuation of something we've seen for several years, which is that today's Democratic Party doesn't value working men and women - American working men and women."

"[...] Amnesty is wrong, and it's also the wrong priority. Today's Democratic Party - their priority is on people here illegally and not on American workers. Not on keeping American workers safe."

ON HOW EXECUTIVE AMNESTY LED TO THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN BEING TRAFFICKED AND ABUSED

"My friend from Illinois has a picture of a lovely young lady that he's spoken about. What he doesn't have a picture of is what happened after executive amnesty was granted for those who came illegally as kids. Which is that the number of unaccompanied children [at the border] skyrocketed.

"The state of Texas - I've been down to the border many, many times. I've visited with the Border Patrol many, many times. You know, you go online and you see cages with children in them. But many of the people online don't tell you it was the Barack Obama administration that built those cages. And it was executive amnesty that resulted in tens of thousands of little boys and little girls being sent alone with violent drug traffickers, with coyotes. Far too many of those kids were physically assaulted, sexually assaulted. You are not helping children by incentivizing little boys and little girls being in the hands of violent traffickers.

"That's not humane and I've seen child after child after child abused by this system. And every time the Democrats offer more amnesty, the predictable result is more children are going to get physically assaulted [and] sexually assaulted."

ON THE NEED TO PASS KATE'S LAW

"What does Kate's law provide? Common-sense legislation that says that aggravated felons, people with serious felony convictions who repeatedly enter the country illegally face a mandatory minimum prison sentence. In other words, we're not going to let them out and allow them to commit murders and rapes and assaults. Not going to let them out to abuse and threaten children. Kate's Law is overwhelmingly bipartisan common sense.

"[...] If Kate's Law had been on the books, Kate Steinle would still be alive, because the violent criminal who kept coming in over and over and over again illegally would have been in jail instead of murdering that young woman. Amnesty is wrong. Illegal executive amnesty is wrong. And we need to have as our first priority protecting the American workers and keeping the American people safe."

In October 2015, Sen. Cruz placed Kate's Law directly on the Senate calendar, making it immediately available for floor action. Unfortunately, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) objected to Sen. Cruz's request for unanimous consent to pass the bill. In 2016, the bill came to the Senate floor again, but Democrats filibustered it. In 2017, Sen. Cruz reintroduced Kate's Law in the 115th Congress, and in 2019, denounced Senate Democrats for pushing their political agenda rather than coming together to address the escalating security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border and protect innocent lives like Kate Steinle's.

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