On Friday, presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz visited the Arizona/Mexico border in Douglas. Cruz was accompanied by former Texas Governor Rick Perry, and the very popular Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who during his tenure has been unwavering in his dedication to those living along the porous border.
Arizona has suddenly become of interest to the presidential candidates, who have previously paid it little attention. Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election is set for Tuesday, and with Cruz gaining on Donald Trump, the state suddenly matters.
Cruz’s campaign in Arizona has been led by lobbyist/campaign manager Constantin Querard. As a result, Cruz was shackled with another of Querard’s clients; the unpopular Arizona Speaker of House David Gowan.
Despite that handicap, Cruz received a warm reception. After describing one resident’s experience with a cartel smuggler, Cruz stated, “I want you to think – folks in other parts of the country – how would you feel having a drug smuggler monitoring you, and entering and leaving your home with impunity? Every rancher here described break-ins they face as a routine matter of living on the border. You know, President Obama says the border is secure. Well, I invite him to move the White House down to the southern border – let’s see how secure it is.”
“I have said the very thing myself,” said one area resident. “We know it would be a whole other story if they had to put up with what we have to put up with every day.”
“That unsecured border is a big part of the problem. My five-year-old daughter could’ve climbed over or under that fence in about 20 seconds,” Cruz said. While there was no mention of the hundreds of children who are trafficked across the border every day, Cruz rightfully stated, “The federal government that’s not doing its job, it’s not even trying to do its job. One important thing to remember is we don’t even have to change any of the laws, just enforce them.”
Getting a firsthand account of challenges facing law enforcement at Arizona/Mexico border https://t.co/B9NC3eJOvd pic.twitter.com/cITkW7XXuf
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 18, 2016