After the United States Supreme Court upheld an Obama-era amnesty program, Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (TX) says now is the time for a “permanent solution” to provide amnesty for an entire class of illegal aliens.
Created in an executive order by then-President Barack Obama in 2012 after Congress declined to pass comprehensive immigration reform, DACA permitted some illegal aliens to remain in the United States and prevented law enforcement officials from deporting them.
The lawless program was challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and President Donald Trump as unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision on Thursday, George W. Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberals to prevent Trump from dismantling the program.
After the decision was released, Cornyn took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to deliver a nearly 20-minute speech, in which he said the decision had “thrust upon us a unique moment and an opportunity.”
“We need to take action and pass legislation that will unequivocally allow these young men and women to stay in the only home, the only country, they’ve known,” he added.
Cornyn doubled down on the comments in a series of posts on Twitter, in which he defended his comments—in both English and Spanish—saying illegal alien DACA recipients “deserve nothing less.”
DACA recipients deserve a permanent, legislative solution. We must take action and pass a law that will unequivocally allow these young men and women to stay in the only home they’ve ever known. They deserve nothing less. https://t.co/ldCtQx8KZe
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 18, 2020
Cornyn’s colleague from Texas, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, offered a strikingly different speech on the floor after the decision. In his remarks, Cruz tore into Chief Justice John Roberts for “playing games with the Court to achieve the policy outcomes he desires.”
.@SenTedCruz: "Today's decision from the U.S. Supreme Court…is disgraceful. Judging is not a game. It's not supposed to be a game, but sadly over recent years more and more Chief Justice Roberts has been playing games with the Court to achieve the policy outcomes he desires." pic.twitter.com/SXojMAF9vU
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 18, 2020
Cruz also lambasted Democrats and the media for being the “party of illegal immigration.”
The Republican Party of Texas’ position on illegal immigration is clearly spelled out in the platform, approved every two years by grassroots members of the party.
Plank #286: Any form of amnesty with regard to immigration policy should not be granted, including the granting of legal status to persons in the country illegally.
Texas Attorney Ken Paxton said he was “disappointed” with the decision but that he was looking forward to continuing litigating the issue in a case currently pending in the Southern District of Texas.
