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Ted Cruz calls for 'patrol' of Muslim neighborhoods

<p>Texas Sen. and presidential candidate Ted Cruz has responded to the terror attacks in Brussels <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tedcruzpage/videos/vb.69983322463/10153987736402464/?type=2&theater" target="_blank">by calling for more police surveillance</a> in Muslim communities.</p><p>"In the wake of Brussels, we don't need another lecture from President Obama on 'Islamaphobia.' We need a commander-in-chief who does everything necessary to defeat the enemy," Cruz said <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ted-cruz-calls-president-obama-home-brussels/story?id=37839050" target="_blank">at a news conference</a>.</p><p>Cruz also criticized President Barack Obama for visiting Cuba, calling for him to either come back to Washington, D.C., or go to Brussels.</p><p>And last but not least, he demanded Obama halt his plan to resettle Syrian refugees in the U.S.</p><p>The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations <a href="http://www.houstonpress.com/news/ted-cruz-wants-to-patrol-and-secure-american-muslim-communities-get-ready-houston-8263522" target="_blank">told the Houston Press</a> Cruz's call to let police "patrol and secure" Muslim neighborhoods was "unconstitutional, un-American and unbefitting for one of the leading presidential candidates."</p><p>Cruz's statement comes after Donald Trump <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?401762-1/presidential-candidate-donald-trump-rally-mount-pleasant-south-carolina" target="_blank">called for a temporary ban</a> in December on all Muslims entering the U.S. following the San Bernardino terror attacks.</p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images.</i></p>
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Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz said it is time for law enforcement to "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

The conservative Texas lawmaker made the comment in a statement his campaign released following Tuesday's bombings in Brussels, Belgium, that killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more. The statement was titled, "We Can No Longer Surrender to the Enemy Through Political Correctness."

The Islamic State extremist group claimed credit for the Brussels attacks.

Ted Cruz Presidential Candidate Profile | InsideGov

Cruz's statement provided no details about how law enforcement would secure Muslim neighborhoods.

Cruz said the U.S. must help its European allies and forbid refugees from countries with significant numbers of al-Qaida or IS extremists. He said it must secure the border with Mexico and "utterly destroy ISIS," another acronym for the group.

Cruz's comments comes while voters in Utah and Arizona go to the polls to decide between Cruz and the other two remaining Republicans vying for the presidency. 

Copyright 2016 Scripps Media, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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