Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will join Glenn Beck this weekend at the U.S.-Mexico border on what Beck describes as a humanitarian mission. The Tea Party Senator will join the radio talk show host and his followers in his effort to bring soccer balls and teddy bears to illegal immigrant children. Cruz, who told Breitbart News that the event is a statement against President Barack Obama’s non-enforcement of immigration laws, said he will be doling out medical supplies.
A Cruz spokesperson announced to The Blaze Thursday that Cruz would be “glad to join Glenn Beck” in McAllen, Texas to “provide some relief from the suffering this administration is causing.”
Cruz’s spokesperson, Catherine Frazier, reiterated to Breitbart News that “from day one, Sen. Cruz has been leading the charge to stop President Obama’s lawlessness, which is the direct cause of this humanitarian crisis.” She said Cruz argues that, at the same time, “these young children are very real victims of the President’s promise of amnesty–because of it, they have been subjected to horrific physical and sexual abuse from international drug cartels smuggling them into the country.”
“Private charities and churches are stepping up to provide food, medicine, and toys for these young children, which is a compassionate response that embodies American values,” she continued. “But the most compassionate response–which Senator Cruz is leading the fight to accomplish–is to end the President’s amnesty and to humanely and expeditiously reunite these children with their families back home.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) dropped out of the trip, saying a scheduling conflict prevented him from attending. Sources close to Sen. Lee confirmed to Breitbart News that Lee would not be attending Beck’s event.
Beck, who announced that Lee would be present, apologized to the senator on his radio show Thursday for trumpeting his appearance before their schedules were set. Lee did say that religious organizations and charities can often help children in need better and more effectively than the federal government.
This week on Fox News’ The Kelly File, Beck responded to Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large John Nolte’s criticism of Beck’s initial announcement in which Beck gave the mainstream media license to mock those who disagreed with his efforts as un-Christian. Beck said even if his actions entice more parents in Central America to send their children on the harrowing and sometimes deadly journey to America, it was never his “intent” to do so.
As Breitbart News noted, “Beck did acknowledge that not everyone who is unlawfully entering the country, though, is an innocent child,” and “said he did not mean to say that conservatives who oppose his efforts are not compassionate or good-hearted.”
Beck has delivered a monologue subtitled in Spanish urging parents not to send their kids to America and demanded that the children be sent back home. He said it was his hope that the illegal immigrant children ultimately return to their countries and think the Americans they met were “amazing.” Beck hoped that the children would decide to make something of themselves in their home countries and try to come to America the right way in the future.
Last week, Breitbart’s Nolte wrote that “Beck’s desire to help kids caught in a geopolitical crossfire through no fault of their own is laudable” and, “We all want to help.”
“I’ve yet to hear anyone argue that it’s wrong to use American taxpayer dollars to feed, house, and offer medical care to these children. No one opposes that,” Nolte continued. “But for Beck (and the media currently using him to club conservatives) to pretend there isn’t a compassionate argument to be made against what Beck’s doing is simply wrong, unfair, and a bit sanctimonious.”
Nolte emphasized that “the truly compassionate thing to do is to ensure you’re not doing anything that might encourage more parents to send their unaccompanied children on that harrowing trek” and “it is not insane, unreasonable, or lacking in compassion to argue that news of a major American media figure greeting children at the border with toys could be used by the drug smugglers and human traffickers already exploiting these kids as a way to recruit more.”
On Wednesday evening, Cruz’s staff initially leaked that he wanted to push for a repeal of DACA in any bill that gives more funding to Obama to deal with the border crisis. The next day, Cruz and his staff said the Senator would introduce legislation to prevent Obama from granting temporary amnesty going forward, but it would not be “retrospective” and take away temporary amnesty from the nearly 560,000 DREAMers who have received it since 2012.
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