Rubio says Cruz hurt USA intelligence programs with stance

“The point I was making is I’m surprised by his criticism given that fact that his record on immigration, quite frankly, is not substantially different than mine”, Rubio said. “At least two of my colleagues in the Senate aspiring to the presidency, Senator Cruz in particular, have voted to weaken the USA intelligence programs just in the last month and a half”.

“In the Gang of eight fight, Marco chose to stand with Chuck Schumer and to lead the fight tooth-and-nail for a massive amnesty plan”, Cruz said.

Now as then, he’s bashing the better-funded outside groups supporting Cruz, calling the Keep the Promise PACs’ ads “completely awful”. Mr. Cruz started the battle recently, assaulting Mr. Rubio by name for his bipartisan work in the Senate to pass movement change in 2013.

Rubio’s campaign pointed out that the Florida senator was among the 32 nays on the measure, which banned the bulk collection of data by the National Security Agency and replaced a controversial provision of the Patriot Act, while Cruz was one of 67 yays. He must consider it safer than defending his previous support for a path to citizenship for the undocumented, which has now been watered down to support for something that might be more feasible politically: green cards with a “very long” path to citizenship.

The idea that Texas’ junior senator is the “sane” alternative in a GOP primary is a dream come true for Cruz, who is reviled in Washington D.C. for his pungent mix of narcissism, self-destructive revanchism, and willingness to defame anyone but Donald Trump. It would increase penalties for re-entering the country illegally. Obama has been perhaps the most high-profile backer of Senator Rubio’s main immigration proposal.

Cruz would criminalize visa overstays; require foreign countries to take back their deported citizens; end birthright citizenship, which grants babies born in the United States the right to citizenship; end all benefits for illegal workers, including tuition; and ensure that workers were legal before allowing firms to deduct their wages from gross income. Given grassroots hostility to immigration, this gives Cruz the advantage. Last week the two candidates sparred over immigration.

“He supported a massive expansion of the H-1B program, a 500 percent increase”, he said. He would also enforce the “public-charge” doctrine, which would force immigrants to certify they are self-sufficient before they are given permission to live in the United States “The goal of legal immigration should be to grow the economy, not displace American workers”, he said. “They need to be settled in the Middle East and majority Muslim countries”, not in the US, where “it makes no sense whatsoever”.

He suggested building a “big lovely safe zone” in the war-torn Syria where the refugees can live instead.