If there was one moment of Tuesday’s GOP debate that has the most potential to alter the race, it had to be the heated exchange between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz over immigration.
Now there’s no doubt that Rubio has moderated his position on immigration since his participation in the 2013 Gang of Eight bill. However, Rubio’s answer at the debate was pretty straightforward about having changed his position:
Rubio: Here’s what we learned in 2013. The American people don’t trust the Federal Government to enforce our immigration laws, and we will not be able to do anything on immigration until we first prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under control. And we can do that. We know what it takes to do that. It takes at least 20,000 more additional border agents. It takes completing those 700 miles of fencing. It takes a mandatory e-verify system and a mandatory entry/exit tracking system to prevent overstays. After we have done that, the second thing we have to do is reform and modernize the legal immigration system. And after we have done those two things, I think the American people are gonna be reasonable with what do you do with someone who has been in this country for 10 or 12 years who hasn’t otherwise violated our laws — because if they’re a criminal they can’t stay. They’ll have to undergo a background check, pay a fine, start paying taxes. And ultimately, they’ll given a work permit and that’s all they’re gonna be allowed to have for at least 10 years. But you can’t get to that third step until you have done the other two things, and that was the lesson we learned in 2013. There is no trust that the Federal Government will enforce the law. They will not support you until you see it done first. CNN’s DANA BASH: Senator, you haven’t answered the question. You described a very long path but does that path end at citizenship? RUBIO: But I’ve answered that question repeatedly. I am personally open — after all that has happened and after ten years in that probationary status where all they have is a permit, I personally am open to allowing people to apply for a green card. That may not be a majority position in my party, but that’s down the road.
To Rubio’s credit, it takes a lot of guts to say in the middle of a Republican debate you may depart with the majority of your party on an issue. Now here’s where it gets dicey. Every time Cruz goes after Rubio on immigration, Rubio makes the case that Cruz has also evolved from a more liberal position on immigration, but unlike Rubio, Cruz is being disingenuous about it:
Rubio: As far as Ted’s record, I’m always puzzled by his attack on this issue. Ted, you support legalizing people who are in this country illegally. Ted Cruz supported a 500-percent increase in the number of H-1 visas, the guest workers that are allowed into this country, and Ted supports doubling the number of green cards. So I think what’s important for us to understand and there is a way forward on this issue that we bring our country together on. And while I’m president I will do it. And it will begin by bringing illegal immigration under control and proving to the American people. BASH: Senator Cruz? CRUZ: Look, I understand Marco wants to raise confusion, it is not accurate what he just said that I supported legalization. Indeed, I led the fight against his legalization and amnesty. And you know, there was one commentator that put it this way that, for Marco to suggest our record’s the same is like suggesting “the fireman and the arsonist because they are both at the scene of the fire.” He was fighting to grant amnesty and not to secure the border, I was fighting to secure the border. And this also goes to trust, listening on to campaign trails. Candidates all the time make promises. You know, Marco said,” he learned that the American people didn’t trust the federal government.”
Cruz goes on to defend himself, and at some point Rubio asks point blank, “Does Ted Cruz rule out ever legalizing people that are in this country now?” You can consult the transcript of the debate, but I think it’s fair to say that Cruz does nothing but basically filibuster the question in response. It may even be worse than that. Cruz’s answer — “I have never supported legalization, and I do not intend to support legalization” — is downright Clintonian in its evasiveness. And this is not the first time Cruz has ducked the question:
On Sunday, Cruz was asked by NBC News twice on whether he would take legal status off the table in immigration talks. “The focus of the press and the focus of the Democrats is always on those people who are currently here illegally,” Cruz responded. “So my view is, first, we secure the border. We don’t have to secure every aspect of immigration all at once.”
Here’s the more complete case against Cruz being made by the Rubio campaign. But in Cruz’s defense, here’s Andy McCarthy of National Review accusing Rubio of skewing the facts.
But regardless of the confrontation over this issue, Cruz may well be the victor of the exchange. I realize it’s more appropriate to make Star Wars references at the moment, but engaging immigration is a Kobayashi Maru situation for Rubio given that he’s out of step on immigration, which generates quite a bit of intensity among the Republican base. Cruz’s rhetoric, regardless of the underlying substantive criticisms of his actual positions, seems more in tune with GOP voters.
In any event, both Rubio and Cruz had strong debate performances. To the extent that they clashed tonight over national security and immigration issues, it proved illuminating for viewers. These are two very smart men who think about certain issues differently, and can debate at a very high level and we would have been all better off if the debate had been able to devote more time to these two candidates. Alas, as Fox News’s Chris Stirewalt quipped, “Nine people is a baseball team not a debate.”
