MIAMI (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says the Obama administration is to blame for the waves of immigrant children crossing the border illegally.

The potential presidential candidate told reporters at a Republican fundraiser in Miami on Friday that Obama’s 2012 decision to defer the deportations of some young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally creates a perception of an incentive to cross the border.

The Texas Republican calls Obama’s executive order a “lawless act” that grants “amnesty.”

More than 47,000 children, primarily from Central America, have been apprehended at the Mexican border since the start of the budget year. The administration says the influx is being driven mostly by gang-related violence in other countries.

Cruz says Congress should pass legislation that tightens border security and streamlines the immigration system.

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