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


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.
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"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.
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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.
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