GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump is going after Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on the issue of immigration in a new television ad unveiled Friday.
The 60-second ad includes clips of Mr. Cruz speaking about an amendment he offered to a 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill — a bill that ended up passing in the U.S. Senate without the amendment.
It concludes with Mr. Trump speaking about the ills of illegal immigration.
“We want to have borders,” Mr. Trump says. “To have a country, you have to have borders. We don’t have borders right now.”
“Ted Cruz is a total hypocrite and, until recently, a Canadian citizen who may not even have a legal right to run for president,” Mr. Trump said in a separate statement.
“He didn’t disclose loans, pretending he’s Robin Hood, when he’s just another all talk, no action politician,” Mr. Trump said. “Had I not brought up the subject of illegal immigration, an issue which Ted Cruz is very weak on, nobody would even be talking about it. I will build a great wall, and Mexico will pay for it.”
The Trump campaign said the ad will run on television in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
In one of the GOP debates, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Mr. Cruz favored legalizing people in the country illegally. But Mr. Cruz said he’s never supported legalization and that his amendment, which would have barred illegal immigrants from gaining U.S. citizenship, was intended to call the Democrats’ bluff on the citizenship issue and draw out their own hypocrisy.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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