Rafael Cruz is a powerful example of the American Dream. Born in Cuba, Rafael lived and suffered under a cruel, oppressive dictator. He began fighting Batista’s regime as a teenager and was imprisoned and tortured simply because he wanted to be free.

Rafael arrived in Texas in 1957 on a student visa. He got a job as a dishwasher making 50 cents an hour and worked his way through the University of Texas while learning English. He later built a small business in further pursuit of the American Dream.

In early 1980, Rafael Cruz joined the State Board of the Religious Reoundtable, a Judeo-Christian organization that mobilized millions of the people of faith during the presidential campaign of Ronald Reagan.

Rafael is an ordained minister and the Director of Grace for America, sharing the Word of God in churches and at pastors’ conferences throughout the United States. He is the author of A Time for Action: Empowering the Faithful to Reclaim America.

His son, Ted Cruz, is a constitutional conservative U.S. Senator from Texas and a former candidate for United States President.

When Ted was a child growing up in Houston, Rafael would tell him, “When we faced oppression in Cuba, I had a place to flee to. If we lose our freedom here, where do we go?”

That’s why Rev. Cruz is passionate about returning America to the biblical and historical foundations that made this country exceptional.