Aren't you a Ted Cruz fan? I hate to tell you....but he supported the gang of 8 bill.
Cruz, May 21, 2013: "They would still be eligible for legal status and indeed, under the terms of the bill, they would be eligible for LPR [Lawful Permanent Resident] status as well so that they are out of the shadows, which the proponents of this bill repeatedly point to as their principal objective, to provide a legal status for those who are here illegally to be out of the shadows. This amendment would allow that to happen, but what it would do is remove the pathway to citizenship so that there are real consequences that respect the rule of law and that treat legal immigrants with the fairness and respect they deserve."
Cruz, May 21, 2013: "And a second point to those advocacy groups that are so passionately engaged. In my view if this committee rejects this amendment and I think everyone here views it is quite likely this committee will choose to reject this amendment in my view that decision will make it much much more likely that this entire bill will fail in the House of Representatives. I dont want immigration reform to fail. I want immigration reform to pass. And so I would urge people of good faith on both sides of the aisle if the objective is to pass common sense immigration reform that secures the borders, that improves legal immigration and that allows those who are here illegally to come in out of the shadows, then we should look for areas of bipartisan agreement and compromise to come together. And this amendment, I believe if this amendment were to pass, the chances of this bill passing into law would increase dramatically. And so I would urge the committee to give it full consideration and to adopt the amendment."
Cruz, May 21, 2013: "Now I would suggest to all of those who passionately want to see this program fixed, that saying its all-or-nothing if theres no path to citizenship, quote, there is no reform, tying immigration reform hostage to a path to citizenship is not a strategy to pass a bill. Its a strategy to create partisan division. Its a strategy that may well result in more political battles. But its not a strategy to fix the problem and so I would urge everyone on this committee to roll up our sleeves and fix the problem in a humane way that secures the border, gets serious about fixing that problem, that expands and improves legal immigration and that does not unfairly treat legal immigrants by removing a path to citizenship but allowing as this legislation does a legal status for those who are here illegally. That would be reform that a great many people across this country, both Republican and Democrat, would embrace and I would urge the committee to consider the amendment."
Asked in a Texas Tribune interview in 2013 if he worried that some might consider his proposal amnesty, Cruz said it was a compromise position. I have said from the very beginning that I believe in compromise,