Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Tuesday that he does not plan on ever supporting a pathway to citizenship or legalization for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.
“I have never supported legalization and I do not intend to support legalization,” Cruz said during the final GOP presidential debate of the year in Las Vegas.
It’s the furthest that Cruz has gone in outlining whether he would allow more than 11 million undocumented immigrants to continue living in the U.S. through an earned pathway to citizenship or legalization.
For years, Cruz has managed to avoid specifics. He has railed against so-called “amnesty” while also calling for stepped up enforcement at the border. But it has remained unclear what plan the freshman senator would support once illegal immigration levels are sufficiently brought down.
And some observers thought he still left himself some wiggle room tonight. “Cruz’s ‘do not intend’ answer is testament to a truly fine legal education,” National Review editor Rich Lowry tweeted.
Sen. Marco Rubio has tried to walk a similar tightrope by avoiding having to detail an timeline of what legalization would look like under his administration, how long it would take and whether it would ultimately end with citizenship.
“I am personally open after all that has happened and after ten years in probationary status, I am open to a green card,” Rubio said.









