The flood of illegal immigrants into the U.S. constitutes an “invasion,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Wednesday – the same day Rasmussen Reports released survey results showing that a strong majority of voters agree with him about what’s taking place at the nation’s southern border.
“We are witnessing a profound threat to our nation at the southern border,” Sen. Cruz told reporters, describing the rampant illegal immigration as an “invasion” being facilitated by the Biden Administration:
“Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and this entire administration has deliberately and willfully facilitated the criminal invasion of this country. It is a humanitarian crisis, it is a public safety crisis, it is a national security crisis.”
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“That is why the House of Representatives impeached (DHS Sec.) Alejandro Mayorkas – because he has aided and abetted the criminal invasion of this United States.”
Democrats in Congress have been loath to characterize the border situation as an invasion. But, results of a national Rasmussen survey, conducted March 31-April 2, reveal that 64% of U.S. likely voters say “invasion” is at least a “somewhat” accurate description – including 42% who call it “very accurate.”
Minorities are more prone that Whites to call the situation an invasion. While 61% of Whites say it’s at least somewhat accurate, 66% of Blacks and 70% of other non-Whites approve of the characterization. Nearly half of other non-Whites (47%) consider it very accurate.
Democrat voters are the most opposed to the use of “invasion,” as less than half (46%) consider it acceptable, including just 23% who think it’s a very accurate descriptor. In contrast, 87% of Republicans and 60% of other voters call it an accurate term.
Likewise, only 29% of voters who “strongly approve” of Democrat Joe Biden’s job performance as president think “invasion” is an accurate description, Rasmussen reports.
A new Texas law authorizing the state’s law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants, based on a provision in the U.S. Constitution empowering states to repel invasions, is being held up in the courts by a Biden Administration lawsuit. The White House is claiming that the surge of illegal immigrants is not an “invasion.”
But, as Heartland Institute’s Justin Haskins explains in a Newsweek commentary, the illegal immigration surge fits the Founders Fathers’ definition of “invasion.” The New York Times best-selling author notes they the Founders set a very low bar for states needing to respond to invasion:
“In Article One, Section 10, the Constitution declares, ‘No State shall, without the Consent of Congress...engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.’"
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“Today's pundits, legislators, and voters might disagree about what constitutes an ‘invasion,’ but in the era of the Founding Fathers, when that clause of the Constitution was written, the word had a clearer meaning. To the Founders, an "invasion" referred to any unauthorized entry that includes even a slight degree of hostility.”
As a result, “invasion” has been cited in order to justify state actions against pirates, barbarians, and now, drug cartels and illegal migrants.
On Wednesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill mirroring Texas' new measure. And, again, the Biden Administration is suing.
We are witnessing a profound threat at our southern border.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 10, 2024
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the entire administration have deliberately facilitated the criminal invasion of the United States.
The border crisis is a public safety crisis, a national security crisis, and a… pic.twitter.com/Hx60eoV6em