--- description: Kasich called mass deportation "a silly argument" title: John Kasich, Ted Cruz Spar With Donald Trump on Immigration image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ohio's John Kasich Bashes Trump for 'Silly' Immigration Plan  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 11, 2015 2:54 AM CUT  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 11, 2015 2:54 AM CUT Ohio governor John Kasich swung hard at Donald Trump’s immigration plan in the Republican primetime debate Tuesday night, calling the business mogul’s plan to deport 11 million undocumented workers “a silly argument.” “In 1986 Ronald Reagan basically said the people who were here, if they were law abiding, could stay,” Kasich said. “We need to control our border just like people have to control who goes in and out of their house.” “But if people think that we are going to ship 11 million people who are law abiding, who are in this country, and somehow pick them up in their house and ship them out to Mexico, think about the families, think about the children,” he continued. “So you know what the answer really is? If they’ve been law abiding, they pay a penalty, they get to stay, we protect the wall, anybody else comes over, they go back.” “But for the 11 million people? Come on, folks,” he said. “It’s a silly argument, it’s not an adult argument. It makes no sense.” Texas Senator Ted Cruz continued to argue against a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, arguing that “if Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose.” “It’s not compassionate to say we’re not going to enforce the laws, and we’re going to drive down the wages for millions of working men and women,” Cruz said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4107671/ohio-john-kasich-immigration-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4107671/ohio-john-kasich-immigration-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Ohio's John Kasich Bashes Trump for 'Silly' Immigration Plan","datePublished":"2015-11-11T02:54:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:30:22.930Z","description":"Kasich called mass deportation \"a silly argument\"","url":"https://time.com/4107671/ohio-john-kasich-immigration-donald-trump/","keywords":["2016 Election","Texas","2016 Election topic","Immigration","ted cruz","Donald Trump","john kasich","Republican debate"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4107671/ohio-john-kasich-immigration-donald-trump/","name":"Ohio's John Kasich Bashes Trump for 'Silly' Immigration Plan"}}]}] ```