Sen. Ted Cruz, a first-term Republican from Texas, expressed the frustration he and others feel at the way this contentious issue is being handled at all levels of the federal government.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claims that he is trying to be constructive, not obstructive, in his opposition to the immigration legislation that is being debated by the Senate.

"I'm trying to improve the bill so it fixes the problem," Cruz told Jeff Zeleny of ABC News. "I disagree with where this bill is now because I think if it were adopted it would make the problem worse. It would incentivize yet more people to come here illegally."

The senator also lamented the Senate Judiciary Committee's failure to make what he felt were necessary changes to the bill before taking it to the Senate floor.

"The democrats in a party-line vote rejected practically every serious substantive amendment to the bill," states Cruz.

He said that his focus is making sure that the legislation actually secures the borders and improves legal immigration and he is frustrated by the political games being played over the legislation.

"This bill is being driven primarily by partisan politics and not by a desire to solve it," Cruz says. "The biggest obstacle to passing common sense immigration reform is President Barack Obama. A path to citizenship is the most divisive aspect of this bill and the White house is insisting on it. The path the White House is going down, I believe, is designed for this bill to fail. It's designed for it to sail through the Senate and crash in the House, to let the president go and campaign in 2014 on this issue."

Not sparing his own party from blame, Cruz adds, "Leadership in both parties is what has gotten us in this mess."