Well, reading the actual text, it's clear it wasn't just a parliamentary trick. Note your key words: "at the time." What was Cruz's team telling people in March of this year, and also after that? Is Cruz clear in his denunciation of granting legal status?
The whole "it was an elaborate ruse!" argument fails if the ruse keeps going and going and going.
"We stopped the Gang of Eight bill. Ted Cruz led the fight against the establishment. We would be living under amnesty right now if Cruz had not succeeded." - Rush Limbaugh