Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, hammered the Obama administration during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday for failing to follow federal immigration laws, grilling Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña over the number of undocumented immigrants with criminal records released by the agency. “There were 68,000 criminals—criminal illegal aliens—that ICE declined to begin deportation proceedings against despite the fact … the federal law that you’re holding up there says ‘they shall be deported,’” Cruz said. “… In addition to that, there were 36,000 in deportation proceedings with criminal convictions that the Obama administration released.”