Two likely candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination have broke with their party on immigration issues in the last week, earning the approval of Democrats, but drawing criticism from the right.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R- Texas) irked many in the GOP when he met with House Republicans, urging them to vote against a proposed supplemental immigration bill. House leadership was forced then to pull the bill Thursday afternoon.
His move has attracted praise from an unlikely source, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.). Grijalva and other Democrats opposed the bill on humanitarian grounds.
“There’s kids right now going through this process from Central America that owe a debt of gratitude for their due process and the ability to be adjudicated correctly — they owe a debt of gratitude to Sen. Ted Cruz and the extreme branch of this caucus of the Republican side,” Grijalva said.
Cruz wasn’t the only one to strain ties on the right while earning the favor of the left.
In the face of the disapproval of his Republican colleagues, Sen. Marco Rubio (R- Fla.) voted to open debate on a bill pledging $2.7 billion to address humanitarian problems on the southern border. Rubio said that he had agreed to open debate in order to change the bill to better suit his liking and that he would block the plan later this week if Senate Democrats attempted to liberalize immigration law or otherwise amend the bill.
Rubio defended his decision, saying, “I want to get on the bill so we can file a better version of it.” He is demanding that any border bill also end President Obama’s program delaying deportation to certain individuals who entered illegal as youths.
Still, 31 of his fellow GOP Senators voted against proceeding to emergency aid package, including other potential candidates Rand Paul (Ky.) and Cruz.
“We will not support adding anything to this bill that goes beyond security and the immediate issue that we’re facing,” Rubio said. “Without our votes, they don’t have the 60 votes they need to get anything done. … If it goes beyond [the immediate crisis] in any way, none of us will support it.”
