A deeper look at Cruz’s record — particularly during the divisive 2013 immigration debate — showcases how the junior senator from Texas was seeking to promote a view of immigration that could appeal to constituents in a border state transformed by an influx of migrants. A review of nearly 1,000 pages of transcripts from the five days of committee votes shows how the Texas firebrand took a nuanced view — repeatedly saying he wanted the bill to pass with several changes, especially expanded legal immigration…

Cruz ultimately opposed the so-called Gang of Eight bill, which was co-authored by his chief presidential rival, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and would have been the most expansive rewrite of immigration laws in nearly three decades. He now says he wouldn’t give permanent legal status to any of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants and touts his role in leading the fight in the Senate Judiciary Committee to kill the bill.

But a CNN review of the committee transcripts shows that not once did he use the word “amnesty” in describing illegal immigration during the five days of lengthy deliberations, a common mantra for Cruz on the campaign trail today. And he sought to both double the cap of legal immigration from 675,000 to 1.3 million and pushed for a dramatic increase of 500% for high-skilled H-1B visas to 325,000.