Ted Cruz's office refused to open its doors to Muslim constituents on Muslim Advocacy Day

Ted Cruz refused to meet with Muslim constituents.
(Image credit: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

Of the 215 congressional offices that opened their doors on Monday to meet with Muslims and representatives of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, Ted Cruz's office was not one. Despite his constituents' repeated requests to arrange a meeting for Muslim Advocacy Day, all 14 who traveled to Capitol Hill from Texas were turned away, The Intercept reports.

"During the initial onset of us requesting a meeting we did get a response back. They said we're going to put you in touch with our Middle East Policy advisor. We were kind of perplexed by that... We're Americans coming from Texas to talk about American issues," Cruz constituent Alia Salem said.

After clarifying the situation, the group didn't hear from Cruz's office again despite repeated requests. When the constituents got to Capitol Hill on Monday, they were "given the excuse by interns they're all tied up in meetings," Salem said. No other Texas office denied its constituents a meeting.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"We met with [Sen. Cruz] two years ago for the first time. We met with his office last year. It was cordial. We had no problems. But the election, or the temper of the election, is what's causing the problems," another Texas Muslim, Mustafaa Carroll, said.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.