Ted Cruz: “Last year, 853 migrants died crossing the border illegally.”

“Have you seen him going out on midnight patrol with the border patrol agents and encountering, as you do every time, children who've been abused, who've been brutalized? You cannot see what is happening at the southern border and defend it. Last year, 853 migrants died crossing the border illegally. When I brought 19 senators down to the border, we went out on the Rio Grande river, we saw a man floating dead in the river who had died that day.” (18:33–18:40)

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.