Cruz rebukes Rubio’s jabs with hard line on work visas

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is escalating his feud with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) by drawing a line in the sand on specialty work visas for immigrants.

“The H1-B program as it was originally designed I think had a good intention,” he told listeners during a presidential campaign rally in Orlando Friday afternoon. The H1-B visa program allows employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty positions.

{mosads}“[But] all of us have been stunned by reports of companies abusing this program,” Cruz said. “This is fundamentally wrong [and] is an abuse of the system.”

“[It is] another aspect of the Obama [administration] lawlessness that that the Justice Department turns a blind eye to the abuses of the H1-B program.”

Cruz’s remarks coincide with the release of his campaign’s official policy outline on immigration reform that afternoon.

“Perhaps the only thing worse than President Obama’s dictatorial behavior is Congress’s utter failure to even try and stop him,” he says in the document. “This lawlessness must end, and it must end with the next president.

“Under the current law, there is more than enough legal authority to do so. I give you my solemn word that, if I am elected president, we will use that authority to secure the border, and to restore the value of American citizenship and the rule of law.”

Cruz’s plan details a thorough investigation and a possible overhaul of the program in an effort to curb corporate wrongdoing. It calls for a 180-day suspension of the program and a full audit of all companies using it.

Cruz’s tougher stance on the visas follows criticism from Rubio, a 2016 rival, of his support for them.

Rubio has argued this week that they constitute a form of “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

“He wanted to double the number of green cards [and] he wanted a 500 percent increase in the number of H1-B visas,” he said of Cruz Friday afternoon. “If he’s changed his position, he certainly has a right to change his position on this issue, but he should be clear about that.

“Senator Cruz clearly supported an amendment, and he bragged about how this amendment would bring people out of the shadows and how it would legalize people that are in the country illegally,” he said, referencing 2013 talks over comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

“He, in fact, bragged about the fact that it did not undermine the pathway for legalization for people that were in this country illegally.”

Cruz first attacked Rubio’s role in the “Gang of Eight” negotiations two years ago on Thursday, arguing he opposed “every single amendment” improving national border security.

Rubio has countered that he is “puzzled” by the criticism because his immigration positions are interchangeable with Cruz’s.

The two senators are fighting for a place atop the GOP’s crowded 2016 presidential field.

Less than 2 points separate them as they battle for third and fourth place, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of national polls.