(CNN)Texas Sen. Ted Cruz does not plan to authorize a special force to deport the undocumented immigrants currently in the country, he told CNN's Jake Tapper, setting up a policy contrast with Donald Trump.
Cruz, who over the past few weeks has specifically endorsed deportations after months of resisting, said in an interview that aired Sunday on "State of the Union" that the U.S. should catch those who came here illegally under normal law enforcement practices, not through round-ups of the estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S.
"No, I don't intend to send jackboots to knock on your door and every door in America. That's not how we enforce the law for any crime," Cruz told Tapper as his campaign bus ambled across northern Iowa.
Trump has promised to authorize a "deportation force" to remove those immigrants from the U.S., pledging to do it "humanely." Trump has repeatedly charged that Cruz is merely copying his immigration positions, but Cruz has called his plan "the most aggressive" in the GOP field.
Earlier this week, BuzzFeed captured Cruz on video arguing that his plan was stronger than Trump's because he would not allow those back into the U.S., while Trump's would.
But on the actual act of deportation, Cruz is taking a softer tact.
RELATED: Ted Cruz closes door on legal status for undocumented immigrants
"We don't have any system that knocks on the doors of every person in America," Cruz told Tapper. "We also don't have people going door-to-door looking for murderers. We don't live in a police state. We do have law enforcement."
Cruz indicated that he would only deport those who are apprehended, such as those who commit crimes or are caught by prospective employers without having immigrated legally. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement or Border Patrol agents could also apprehend those along the border.
Cruz's comments come at a time when President Barack Obama is coming under fire from some progressives for his administration's recent deportations of families back to unstable Central American countries. Some Democrats, including Reps. Linda Sanchez and Luis Gutierrez, argue that the families should be regarded as refugees, not immigrants.
For much of the campaign, Cruz has repeatedly declined to outline what he would do with the undocumented immigrants. But as his debate with Marco Rubio on immigration grew more heated, Cruz definitively ruled out a path to legal status and then has slowly offered more details about how he would deport those already here.
It's CNN so there is a damnable autoplaying video at link:
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/10/politics/ted-cruz-immigration-deportation-guns-terrorism/index.htmlOne interesting thing left out, which is on the crawl (at least on the twitter post) "Deportations ineffective until you seal the border." Can't be stated enough - turn off the water BEFORE you fix the leak.
