--- title: Ted Cruz Says No to 'Deportation Force' for Immigrants description: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the “deportation force” proposed by Donald Trump to boot undocumented immigrants is not how America works canonical: https://time.com/4174322/ted-cruz-deportation-trump-force-immigrants/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-10T17:50:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:40.366Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ted Cruz Slams Donald Trump's 'Deportation Force' Proposal og:description: “We don't live in a police state” og:url: https://time.com/4174322/ted-cruz-deportation-trump-force-immigrants/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d968acb82632164/6988785ecd1bba6a5e6fedf1/ted-cruz1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at the Clay County Regional Event Center Ballroom in Spencer, Iowa January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich - RTX21CA5 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ted Cruz Slams Donald Trump's 'Deportation Force' Proposal twitter:description: “We don't live in a police state” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d968acb82632164/6988785ecd1bba6a5e6fedf1/ted-cruz1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Slams Donald Trump's 'Deportation Force' Proposal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e1176342-70c3-428c-bd26-a09dc10edf3c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Raw: Ted Cruz On Deportation [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: Ted Cruz On Deportation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4m6PQ0TE.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2016-01-10_  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 10, 2016 5:50 PM UTC  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 10, 2016 5:50 PM UTC Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Sunday that he does not support the [“deportation force” proposed by Donald Trump](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/11/politics/donald-trump-deportation-force-debate-immigration/) to kick out 11 million undocumented immigrants, saying the idea doesn’t line up with how American law is enforced. The [Republican presidential candidate](http://time.com/4172788/ted-cruz-donald-trump-birther/) set himself apart from the billionaire businessman, [telling Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump’s plan](http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/10/politics/ted-cruz-immigration-deportation-guns-terrorism/index.html) to round up undocumented immigrants is “not how we enforce the law for any crime.” “No, I don’t intend to send jack boots to knock on your door and every door in America,” Cruz said. “Door-to-door, we don’t have any system that knocks on the doors of every person in America. That is not actually how the American law enforcement system works. We also don’t have people going door-to-door looking for murderers. We don’t live in a police state.” Cruz said law enforcement practices currently in place will find undocumented immigrants who are living under the radar. “Listen, we have an enforcement force. It’s called border patrol and it’s called Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” he said. Trump in November pledged to authorize a “deportation force” to “humanely” remove millions of undocumented immigrants from the U.S. “You have millions of people that are waiting in line to come into this country and they’re waiting to come in legally,” Trump said at the time. “And I always say the wall, we’re going to build the wall. It’s going to be a real deal. It’s going to be a real wall.” ## Transcript [00:01] Your question, you keep saying are they gonna knock on [00:03] every door in America? No, I don't intend to send Jack [00:06] Boots to knock on your door and every door in America. [00:09] That's not how we enforce the law for any crime. [00:13] Deportations are ineffective until you secure the border. [00:16] Why? Because right now when we deport someone. Often [00:20] they come back in two three days. Its like if a boat is sinking [00:23] you gotta patch the hole first if you just start bailing and you [00:25] never fix the hole it doesn't work. Interior enforcement is a [00:29] critical part Right. Of how you stop illegal immigration so its [00:33] a comprehensive approach to stopping illegal immigration [00:37] it begins by building a wall Right. That works and as [00:41] I joked in the last debate, maybe we'll make Donald Trump [00:43] pay for it. [ LAUGH ] After that, we triple the boarder patrol, [00:47] people cannot get employment without proving there here [00:50] legally. You put in place a strong biometric entry system [00:55] for Visa so we know the instant someone over stays their [00:58] Visa. 40 % of the illegal immigration is Visa overstays. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4174322/ted-cruz-deportation-trump-force-immigrants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4174322/ted-cruz-deportation-trump-force-immigrants/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Slams Donald Trump's 'Deportation Force' Proposal","datePublished":"2016-01-10T17:50:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:40:40.366Z","description":"“We don't live in a police state”","url":"https://time.com/4174322/ted-cruz-deportation-trump-force-immigrants/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d968acb82632164/6988785ecd1bba6a5e6fedf1/ted-cruz1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d968acb82632164/6988785ecd1bba6a5e6fedf1/ted-cruz1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at the Clay County Regional Event Center Ballroom in Spencer, Iowa January 6, 2016. 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