Ted Cruz is 'grateful' that Fox News is promoting GOP attacks on Kamala Harris

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday told the conservative cable network Fox News that he was “grateful” they were promoting Republican attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris over the issue of immigration.

For months, Republicans have attacked the Biden-Harris administration over what they are calling a “border crisis.” They’ve used that terminology, which is identical to the rhetoric employed by far-right anti-immigrant groups with ties to white supremacists, to describe conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Experts in immigration have said a rise in border crossings since the beginning of the year may be attributable to seasonal shifts in migration patterns, but many Republicans have put the blame on Biden’s border policies.

“This is a crisis. It is part of an amnesty agenda that started the day that President Biden took office. He turned on the green light and said, ‘Come to America’,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), told reporters in March.

Fox News has played a key role in that messaging campaign, airing dozens of segments laying blame on the Biden administration, according to research group Media Matters for America.

The network has for decades attacked immigrants and is the home to several hosts, like Tucker Carlson, who regularly attack Latino migrants using racist terms and stereotypes.

On Tuesday, Cruz appeared on “America’s Newsroom” to discuss immigration.

“You’re airing this on Fox, and I’m grateful that you are, but you know where they’re not airing this? On CNN, on ABC, CBS, NBC, none of the corrupt corporate media is even acknowledging this exists,” Cruz said. “That’s why Kamala and Joe are not going to the border because they know if they go it’ll drive the coverage and they don’t have a solution to this crisis.”

Contrary to Cruz’s assertions, many of the networks he cited, along with print outlets like the Washington Post, have aired Republican complaints about immigration.

On Tuesday, NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt brought up a GOP talking point in an interview with Harris in Guatemala, pointing out that she had yet to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, which Republican lawmakers have been demanding.

“And I haven’t been to Europe,” the vice president replied.

“It is my firm belief that if we care about what’s happening at the border, we better care about the root causes and address them, and so that’s what I’m doing,” she added.

Harris traveled to Central America this week as part of a diplomatic mission to address the underlying causes behind increased migration and to dissuade migrants from coming to the U.S. border.

“The goal of our work is to help Guatemalans find hope at home,” she said in a press conference on Monday, alongside Alejandro Giammattei, president of Guatemala.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.