rumitoid

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ted Cruz has staged a dramatic about-face on the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policies, laying bare how politically damaging the issue of separating children from parents accused of crossing the border illegally is becoming for Republicans facing voters this fall.

The Texas senator, who has become a frequent ally of President Donald Trump, initially blasted criticism of the White House crackdown.

"When you see Democrats saying, 'Don't separate kids from their parents,' what they're really saying is don't arrest illegal aliens," he said last week

But he's now softened substantially, telling reporters in Washington on Tuesday, "All of us are horrified at the images we're seeing." Cruz also said he talked with the White House about legislation he introduced to stop family separations.

It is striking that a leading conservative insurgent could flip-flop in a deep-red state where hardline immigration policies are exceedingly popular. But Cruz's change of heart underscores the chorus of bipartisan politicians and civic and religious leaders across the country who've said such tactics are unacceptable — even as the Trump administration has vowed to stand by them.

Cruz's push for legislation comes as Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic congressman giving up his seat to challenge the incumbent in November, has moved quickly to criticize the family separations and, in the process, raise his national profile. O'Rourke led a Father's Day march to a Texas desert tent city which federal authorities hastily erected to house immigrant children.

"There's an open question right now about who we are and what we stand for and what we're going to do in the face of this injustice and this inhumanity," O'Rourke said by phone.

A former punk rocker, O'Rourke has waged a high energy campaign and often outraised Cruz. He remains a longshot since Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, but family separation may be proving too thorny a topic even for a Republican facing a relatively easy path to midterm re-election.

"The needle that Cruz is trying to thread is he wants to end separation but also maintain rule of law," said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas GOP strategist who added, "He's recognizing that this separation issue is explosive."

More than 2,300 minors were separated from their families at the border from May 5 through June 9, according to the Department of Homeland Security. That's under a policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that refers all cases of illegal entry — even those when people crossing sought asylum to remain in the U.S. — for criminal prosecution. The government previously limited prosecution for many family entrants, partly because children aren't charged with a crime and can't be detained with their parents.

Texas is 39 percent Hispanic and has become the epicenter of the debate, with a former warehouse fitted with metal caging in the Rio Grande Valley housing more than 1,000 immigrant children. Roughly 750 miles to the west, near the pecan-growing town of Tornillo close to El Paso, more youngsters are being held in the tent encampment where O'Rourke led Sunday's march.

O'Rourke also is offering House anti-family separation legislation, but his is similar to Democratic-led efforts in the Senate. He's long courted Trump supporters, saying he can understand their frustration with Washington's status quo. But O'Rourke says there's no room for agreement with the White House on this issue.

"President Trump made the decision to take their young children from them, inflicting horrific trauma on those kids and on those parents alike and absolutely undermining our values and our idea of who we are as a country," he said. "But, at this point, it is now the United States of America that is doing this. It is now on all of us to change it."

O'Rourke said the effort won't make him appear soft on crime since existing federal law already stipulates that anyone crossing the U.S. border and seeking asylum not be treated "like common criminals."

"It's not a question of if you're for law and order. We all are," O'Rourke said. "It's following our own laws and also making sure that we're not torturing these families."

Cruz is beginning to echo that sentiment, saying, "We can stop this" and that his bill "would prohibit separating families, would mandate that kids should stay with their parents."

He said the proposal would double the number of federal immigration judges to ensure that asylum cases are heard within two weeks.

"If the claim is not valid, and many of those coming here illegally don't have valid claims for asylum, then within 14 days that claim should be processed and they should be returned to their home country," Cruz said. "During that expedited process, we can and should keep families together, keep children with their moms and dads and we need to stand up temporary shelters."

Neither Cruz nor O'Rourke's legislation are likely to advance as congressional Republicans continue to grapple with larger immigration packages , which some fierce conservatives are rejecting as "amnesty."

Mackowiak said immigration and border crackdowns rarely are losing issues for Texas Republicans, but family separation "is very uncomfortable for a lot of us."

"Separating families is dicier," he said "even here."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cruzs-flip-flop-family-separation-shows-threat-gop-194708971--election.html

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

The best and fastest way of getting laws changed is to enforce those laws.
President Trump did not make the law, he is only directing it to be strictly enforced.
As for as Cruz, he has been wishy washy from the day he was elected....he goes in any direction he thinks will someday put him in the White House.

Crayons Loc: St Jo, Texas

Ted Cruz's bill is pretty good, It's much better than the clinton/bush/bozo idea of letting CPS lose children to traffickers
https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3892

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

We need to fix the border and then make it more attractive for these people to stay in their own countries and change their government. I bet obama is dancing with glee, after all he is the one who created this mess!!!

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

And president trump gets the blame.....

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Exactly... notice the change in CAM was right about the same time that President Trump decided to run? Obama caused this problem with the influx of families..... So, in my opinion the plot to undermine anyone that was not killary was designed and put into action way back in 2014. He was counting on his legacy to live forever and the way to do that was to develop a base that would be so grateful that they would vote democrat throughout the future. The design was to replace the blacks of America with Hispanics because the blacks are waking up.

JoyV

""If the claim is not valid, and many of those coming here illegally don't have valid claims for asylum, then within 14 days that claim should be processed and they should be returned to their home country," Cruz said. "During that expedited process, we can and should keep families together, keep children with their moms and dads and we need to stand up temporary shelters."" HELLO!!! That is exactly what IS being done for those asking for asylum. Families are kept together while processing which is within 14 days as required by law. Only those who have been charged with a crime and are sent to jail, those who are found to have children with them who have no right to the child, or those who are suspected of being a danger to the child. Not to mention that about 40% of the children sent to the children's detention centers were unaccompanied by adults.



"with a former warehouse fitted with metal caging in the Rio Grande Valley housing more than 1,000 immigrant children." Yes it was an appalling response by Obama to put kids in cages in warehouses. His policy of caging children has been stopped by Trump.

""All of us are horrified at the images we're seeing."" Yes. And the horrifying images are from 2014. The comfortable housing in modern detention centers are from now.

"O'Rourke said the effort won't make him appear soft on crime since existing federal law already stipulates that anyone crossing the U.S. border and seeking asylum not be treated "like common criminals."" WRONG. The law since 2005 requires anyone found crossing the border be charged with a misdemeanor at the least. There is NO law which calls for illegals to be given preferential treatment by the justice system. Simply because the law wasn't being enforced, does not mean there is a law requiring ignoring criminal behavior.

""It's following our own laws and also making sure that we're not torturing these families."" Does the same go for kids of Americans separated? Are we torturing families when children are taken away from American families? There are far more American children separated from their families than illegals. Last year there were over 400,000 children put in foster care. An unknown number taken from parents and put in the custody of other relatives. And all the ones put in institutional settings which are hard to number as they change so frequently.

"He said the proposal would double the number of federal immigration judges to ensure that asylum cases are heard within two weeks." So is doubling better than quadrupling which is what Trump did?

Esley

I think the children should stay with their families and sent back to Mexico.

JoyV

So tell your congressmen to repeal or amend William Wilberforce Act 2009.