Posted on 03/09/2016 12:22:25 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
As Donald Trump is presenting himself as the presumptive nominee, he has described himself as “flexible” on immigration. This now has Ted Cruz positioned as the Republican candidate with the most hardline position on immigration.
NumbersUSA, a prominent immigration restriction group, keeps an ongoing scorecard on 2016 presidential candidates and since updated on March 4, Ted Cruz has an “A” and Trump a “B+”.
Roy Beck, founder and executive director of NumbersUSA, spoke to The Daily Caller Tuesday about the differences between the two candidates and how he feels both will return America to policies that benefit the citizen worker.
“The biggest [difference] is the question of amnesty,” said Beck. The group rates candidates on this issue on the basis of whether they support giving work permits to illegal immigrants.
“Cruz specifically says he’s not going to give work permits to the illegal aliens.” He added, “Whereas Trump says ‘I’m going to deport them all, and I’m going to let all kinds of the good ones back in to have.'”
It was not until a July interview with CNN that Trump embraced deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants.
The New York real estate developer first expressed his support for removing the “bad dudes.” Regarding the other illegal immigrants, Trump embraced effectively a effectively a “touch back” plan, in which they would be deported and then there would be an expedited process for them to come back into the United States.
Trump’s immigration plan on his website only mentions deportation of “criminal aliens.” There is no mention of removal of other illegal immigrants.
Ted Cruz similarly has come out in favor of deporting all illegal aliens in TV interviews. However, like Trump, his website only mentions removal of criminal aliens.
NumbersUSA does not focus on mass deportation as Beck said they believe it to be counter-productive. He did comment on the inconsistencies in Cruz’s and Trumps’s plan and how he thinks they both see the issue.
“We believe what [Cruz] means is every illegal alien who comes in contact with law enforcement and is identified as an illegal alien, we will follow the law and put them into proceedings.
He added, “The real question is are you going to have you will have mass-roundups, Trump has for the most part made it pretty clear he’s said, ‘I’m going to have mass round-ups.’ Cruz has not said that.”
Sen. Cruz has in fact said he would deport and round up all 11 million illegal aliens currently in the country but only after prompted by Bill O’Reilly during a February interview. However, in January, Cruz said he ruled out a “deportation force.”
Two other areas where NumbersUSA believes Cruz holds an advantage over Trump are chain-migration and visa lottery. Chain-migration is the process in which foreign nationals are allowed to enter the United States due to have non-nuclear family members who are permanent residents or citizens. The visa lottery awards nearly 50,000 permanent residency visas to foreign nationals annually.
“Almost anybody who believes that legal immigration needs to be reduced to help workers says you have to get rid of chain-migration and visa lottery,” said Beck. “Cruz has gotten better and better as time has gone on… Trump says nothing.”
Beck did tell TheDC there are a couple places where Trump has the advantage on Cruz and that is his support of mandatory e-verify in order to combat visa overstays. He continued to say, “he’s actually said the words ‘we need less legal immigration,’ whereas Cruz has not said that.”
The NumbersUSA founder did criticize Trump’s comments at the most recent debate showing a shift in his views to be being more accepting to guest workers and foreign students, “What he said the other night was like ‘wow!’ He had two things there that he said on high skill and low skill that were very disconcerting and he’s not dug himself out of that hole as far as we’re concerned.”
He added, “The way to defend yourself on H-2Bs is not to say, ‘well there’s a great reason to have tons of low skill workers coming in for seasonal work.’ What he should say is, ‘I’m using it, it’s legal and I’m keeping up with the competition but I think we should have a level playing field and we should require all companies to use American workers.'”
While Trump and Cruz have certain, nuanced differences in their immigration views, Beck told TheDC:
“Overall either one of them on the basis of what they’re promising it would be a radical change from the past. It would be radically different from Obama, radically different from Bush, radically different from Clinton, and significantly different from H.W Bush. And really significantly different from Reagan, both of them are people who will almost take you back to the Eisenhower era of putting Americans first.”
CW, isn’t Cruz putting Neil Bush on his campaign staff more than enough proof that Cruz has become part of the elite cartel?
Well done!
You honestly consider him crawling into bed with YEB! to be “unifying the party”?
I reckon if you’re a fan of the Uniparty, that makes sense.
Admit it, that was tone deaf, wonderfully stupid mistake.
Even worse than hooking up with Beck The Knife.
Eff the “GOPe side”....sideways and running.
Well, all of a sudden, doing that only shows that he is a “great unifier of the party”.
Having had his hand forced, he now has no choice but to reveal what he *really* is.
Isn’t this just a timely gift?
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/gop-establishment-starts-to-accept-ted-cruz-220474
Yessss.....of course they do....
Actually it is the voters that made it a national debate because the politicians refused to listen - even after 2014...
Cruz has been railing against illegal immigration for a long time in no uncertain terms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0h3Mu8BbjM
You have no idea what Trump really is. How could you?
He’s been on every side of every issue he’s ever spoken about over the years. And suddenly you think that’s going to stop, that this is the real true Mr. Trump... The simple truth is, he knows how to make a deal for what he wants. That’s what he’s really good at.
And he wants to put America back on top again.
I see no downside.
Trump talk and trump walk are two different things. He built trump towers with cheap polish labor, sure he settled a lawsuit with them.. Think they left after getting paid? Trump talk does not equal trump walk. He will keep and prob increase foreign workers with the progressive lie of Americans unqualified, unwilling workers. His record and his rhetoric are mutually exclusive, so which is true?
He wants to put himself on top.
Only someone who will reign in government to its constitutional bounds will make America great again. Trump is just another flavor of big government.
You guys are like the socialist that insist the last disaster was because the last guy did it all wrong. That with new and improved policies from the top down they will straighten it all out. Never mind the basic flaw in the reasoning...
Take health care. Trump has a plan you say. Well “the plan” should be to simply to get the federal government out of health care where it has no constitutional authority to be whatsoever. Instead you accept the premise that the federal government only needs a different plan. Well that is flawed from the start and doomed to long term failure.
It is just another flavor of big government who “knows best”.
I just can’t imagine how things will go with the Bush Dynasty pulling Ted’s strings, now.
When Cruz actually changes on a conservative position in exchange for a Bushland position get back to me.
The only actual change I’m aware of is on H-1B visas and that was awhile ago now and for good reason.
Otherwise what you claim is meaningless.
Funny how you didn’t respond to any of the issues I raised. Only changed the subject.
Ever hear of strawmen?
I trust Jeff Sessions and Sheriff Joe’s assessment.
What a joke of a question. NOBODY. I repeat NOBODY is better on immigration than Trump and it’s why he’s going to win.
Cruz is becoming more establishment with each and every day, now getting stuck in the Bush’s with Neil attaching himself to the campaign in Jebs name.
I still support Ted for VP though. I think the two men will form an unbeatable ticket.
Ted Cruz worked for the Bush administration. Yesterday it was announced that Neil Bush, the S&L fraudster has joined Team Cruz. Heidi Cruz works for Golden Sacks, and the North American Union program which wants to do away with our borders. Cruz has also taken in Jeb’s financial team. No Bush or Bush operatives would ever support anyone who they thought would be tough on illegals.
Cruz has the stink of warmed over Bush all over him.
I have to give the nod to Trump on the issue. He put everything on the line and made his name on this issue alone. It is a campaign issue now only because of Trump.
Trump described himself as “flexible” on immigration..........
So is that a “bad” thing? He was speaking about those who are well educated or have special skills (which can be used here if there ever are jobs for them) instead of those who sneak in, live off our “welfare systems”, etc. I don’t see THAT as a bad thing.
Cruz has a GOPe Bush working for him now. He’s dead to me now.
Used to be 'talk was cheap'. Obama changed that. All sorts of talk about hope, change, ocean levels falling and the earth starting to heal...and people bought into it. I sure hope the rhetoric never trumps an actual record on my side of the political spectrum...oh, wait...never mind...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.