Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is intent on pulling out all the stops to block President Barack Obama's executive action offering deportation relief for up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants. The pioneer of the 2013 government shutdown is pushing congressional conservatives to defund the president's action in a must-pass spending bill, and has declared that "not a single presidential nominee" should be confirmed to any post if Obama moves forward with his "illegal amnesty." On Wednesday, Cruz sank to a new low in his anti-immigration crusade, attempting to drive a wedge between Latinos and African Americans.
Speaking at a press conference today, the senator asserted that Obama's immigration policy is "fundamentally unfair" to black people.
"Amnesty is fundamentally unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who followed the rules and came here legally," Cruz said, per Talking Points Memo's Daniel Strauss. "Amnesty is fundamentally unfair to the 92 Americans who aren't working here right now. Amnesty is fundamentally unfair to the African American community that's facing historic unemployment."
The great warrior for racial justice may not be aware that the economic literature shows that immigrants actually don't rob other groups of jobs, despite what many conservatives cynically claim.
If Cruz is actually interested in addressing African American unemployment, there are a number of policies he could support: eradicating institutional inequities in the criminal justice system, massive investments in public education and job training programs, public works projects, and beefed-up enforcement of policies that aim to combat workplace discrimination.
We're waiting, senator.
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