Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he disagrees with the idea of implementing a “deportation force” to deport the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
Cruz said, “So it’s a comprehensive approach to stopping illegal immigration. It begins by building a wall that works, you know, as I joked in the last debate, maybe we’ll make Donald Trump pay for it. ”
Host Jake Tapper interjected, “How do you get the people who are already in here out?”
Cruz answered, “You put in place a strong e verify system. That means people cannot get employment without proving they’re here illegally. You put in place a biometric system for visas so we know the instant someone overstays their visa. Forty percent of illegal immigration is visa overstays. deportations are ineffective until you secure the border. Why? because right now when we deport someone, they often come back in two or three days. You have to patch the hole in a sinking boat first. If you just start bailing and never fix the hole, it doesn’t work.”
When specifically asked if he you have people going door to door rounding people up, Cruz added, “Door to door. We don’t have any system that knocks on the door of every person in America. That is not how the American law enforcement system works. We don’t have people going door to door looking for murders. We don’t live in a police state. We have law enforcement. How do we catch people? We catch them through things like e-verify. We catch them through things like the criminal law enforcement system.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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