Aug 25, 2015

TED CRUZ DISCUSSES BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP - INCENTIVISES ADDITIONAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Machine generated transcript expect errors.

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we also sat down with texas senator Ted Cruz before an event at the Iowa Hall of

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pride we began by asking about granting automatic citizenship to the children of

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undocumented workers I think birthright citizenship as a policy matter doesn't

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make sense we have right now

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upwards of 12 million people living here illegally it doesn't make any sense that

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our law automatically grant citizenship to their children because what it does

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is it incentivizes additionally legal immigration but the heart of what Donald

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proposed and indeed what i've introduced as we've got to get serious about

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securing the borders and and if you go when you talk with law enforcement as

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you know I represent Texas we've got border with Mexico when you go visit

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with law enforcement when you visit with Border Patrol agents about what works

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the number one most effective tool that works his boots on the ground that's why

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filed legislation to triple the Border Patrol I was very glad to see that

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donald Trump agrees with that proposal the legislation I filed would also

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increase fourfold the fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft so we use

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technology to monitor the border to to supplement the boots on the ground but

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then beyond that 40% of illegal immigration doesn't come across the

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border at all its visa overstays so they legislation I introduced would put in

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place a strong biometric exit entry system so we can stop visa overstays and

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finally we should put in place a robust e-verify system so you can't get a job

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without demonstrating your cereal legally it's not that we don't know how

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to solve illegal immigration what is missing is the political will to get it

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done and as President I will get it done if we will secure the borders in 2011

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you mention that basically there's a quote here you said the 14th amendment

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provides for birthright citizenship I've looked at the legal arguments against it

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I will tell you as a Supreme Court litigator those arguments are not very

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good so as a legal matter it can't be touched rank well now that's that's not

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true so they're two different pieces there's the policy matter in the legal

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matter as a policy matter I think now and I thought then we should end

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birthright citizenship in 2011 in that same conversation I publicly said we

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should end birthright citizenship and I said so in writing now there's a second

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question how does one do it and constitutional scholars differ in terms

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of the way that it can be effectively done some constitutional scholars argue

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Congress could pass a law defining what what the words and Fourteenth Amendment

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subject to the jurisdiction many others argue no it couldn't be done by statute

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it it must be done by constitutional amendment my view there's a good-faith

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argument on both whichever one is effective but as a policy matter we

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should change the law but what I also said that interview I think this is

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important john is we're facing crisis with illegal immigration and law

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enforcement crisis a national security crisis any change in birthright

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citizenship be a statute or constitutional amendment will take many

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many years so the first priority should be securing the border and we can do

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that with a president unlike President Obama who will actually enforce the laws

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and get the job done let me ask about religious liberty you're hosting a

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gathering here and protection of religious liberty in your speech

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announcing your presidency you talked about it you talk about it ever since we

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know that that's will be part of your presidency what in a cruise presidents

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who would same-sex marriage look like well when it comes to religious liberty

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religious liberty has been a

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a foundational passion of mine for decades and I have a long record of

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standing in defending religious liberty and winning successfully whether it was

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defending the Ten Commandments monument on the state capitol grounds winning 54

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before the US Supreme Court defending the Pledge of Allegiance the words one

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nation under God winning unanimously from the Supreme Court or defending the

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Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial a lone white Latin cross were represented three

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million veterans defending that memorial Hwy 154 in front of the US Supreme Court

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this is a deep passion and you know today we're pretty taping at this rally

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here in Iowa that has thousands of people in support of religious liberty

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with this rally is doing is it's telling the stories of ordinary people across

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the country who are here today who stood up for their faith and who were

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persecuted and you know a lot of folks in the media that they belittle the

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threats to religious liberty they say they're not real they're they're made up

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this rally is all about putting names and faces and people to the persecution

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for example one couple is here as I was own dick in videos they're wonderful

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couple they own and historic Lutheran Church for many years the old guards

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posted weddings in their church a couple of years ago two men came to them and

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wanted to have a same-sex wedding in their church and the old guard your

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development ignites a very politely very respectfully said let that hosting a

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homosexual wedding ceremony in their church was contrary to their faith they

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couldn't do it they were sued they went through protracted litigation they pay

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$5,000 to settle the case and they promised never again to host another

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wedding that gone out of business they've laid off all their employees why

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simply because they stood up for their face and religious beliefs we're a

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nation that was founded on religious liberty and the liberal intolerance we

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see trying to persecute those who as a matter of faith follow a biblical

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definition of marriage is fundamentally wrong

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right-center cruise thanks so much thank you john