Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on Potential Closure of U.S.-Mexico Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today issued the following statement on the potential closure of the U.S.-Mexico border:

"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.

"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.

"But the answer is not to punish those who are legally crossing the border. The answer is not to punish Texas farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and small businesses. 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."

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