Did Ted Cruz say "the Alien Invasion Is orchestrated" in a quote about "illegals" who arrive at the southern border of the United States? No, Cruz did not make the comments. A viral message about the appearances of the people trying to cross into the U.S. at the southern border was not made by Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas. The original quote was posted on a Twitter user's account March 27, 2021, and then falsely attributed to Cruz. A spokesperson for Cruz told Lead Stories, "Senator Cruz never made that statement. This is a categorically false quote that is being wrongly attributed to him on social media."
The claim appeared as a post (archived here) where it was published on Facebook on April 3, 20210. It opened:
"Why do Illegals arrive at the Border clean and refreshed after traveling 1,500 miles on foot?
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Apr 6 19:14:27 2021 UTC)
The meme added a photograph of Cruz above the text that reads:
"Why do Illegals arrive at the Border clean and refreshed after traveling 1,500 miles on foot? Why don't they ever carry food or blankets? How do they charge their cell phones? Almost makes one think the Alien Invasion is orchestrated."
It has been posted on multiple Facebook pages since April 2, 2021, but the original quote was posted on March 27, 2021 on the Twitter account @jonmichaelolse1. It was not attributed to Cruz and did not include a photograph of Cruz.
Why do Illegals arrive at the Border clean and refreshed after traveling 1,500 miles on foot?
-- Jon Michael Olsen (@jonmichaelolse1) March 27, 202
Why don't they ever carry food or blankets? How do they charge their cell phones?
Almost makes one think the Alien Invasion is orchestrated
Lead Stories reached out to Cruz's staff and a spokesperson responded on April 6, 2021, saying in an email that the post is "a categorically false quote that is being wrongly attributed" to Cruz.
