Texas Sen. Ted Cruz invited President Obama to move the White House down to the U.S.-Mexico border during a press conference just feet from the border Friday.
“I invite him. Let’s move the White House down to the border, see how security is,” Cruz told reporters at the Glenn Ranch in Douglas, Ariz.
The Republican presidential candidate claimed that the commander in chief would never permit such a move because the southern border is not secure. Cruz pointed at drug coyotes’ frequent use of unsecured sections of the border as evidence the current fencing has not protected Americans from the growing drug epidemic.
“That unsecured border is a big part of the problem. My five-year-old daughter could’ve climbed over or under that fence in about 20 seconds,” Cruz said. “That is indicative of the federal government that’s not doing its job, that’s not even trying to do its job. One important thing to remember is we don’t even have to change any of the laws, just enforce them.”
The immigration hawk called out member of the press for trespassing over the fence to take a better picture of the event.
“Several of the folks of the media taking pictures decided they’d get a better picture from the other side of the fence so they promptly climbed the fence and crossed illegally into the nation of Mexico,” Cruz explained during the conference.
“I’m not sure if the Mexican authorities will be arresting any members of the media, but it says something that this was not a complicated endeavor.”
Cruz also praised Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out of the presidential race in September, for increasing Border Patrol operations at the border due to the federal government’s “failure” to do so.
The second-ranked GOP candidate will head to Utah Saturday for events before the state’s caucus March 22.
