An hour into the fifth Republican debate, Rubio was already piling onto Cruz, who surpassed Donald Trump to claim first place in Iowa polls this week.
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Rubio, for his part, was confused by Cruz’s response.
“This election is about the essence of America”, he says.
Cruz responded: “I have never supported legalization, and I do not intend to support legalization”.
Though none of the three Republican presidential candidates were in the Senate when Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan were arrested in 2009 (which led to a six-month moritorium on the Iraqi refugee program in 2011), Paul’s struggling campaign uses them as an example to “sound the alarm” about the supposedly existential threat of terrorists entering the USA through the Syrian refugee program. Paul said. “Rubio says we should collect all Americans’ records all of the time”.
“Just rule it out”, Rubio said.
The Cruz and Rubio campaigns declined to comment on the new attacks from the left.
Rubio has accused Cruz of weakening national defense by voting to end mass surveillance techniques used by the National Security Agency, and for voting against national defense reauthorization bills he says are vital for a well-funded military.
Rubio said that illegal immigrants would, “have to undergo a background check, pay a fine, start paying taxes” before they can become citizens.
Cruz supported a 500% increase in the number of H1b guest worker visas, Rubio said, and wanted to double the number of green cards available.
A new digital ad with subtitles in Spanish criticizes Cruz and Rubio for talking tough against immigration reform and picture both Republican senators alongside Trump.
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“People are very concerned that Cruz and Rubio are often thought of as candidates that will attract Hispanic voters when in fact their records are hostile to Latinos”, said Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration group.
