EAGLE PASS, Texas — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass on Monday afternoon, using the stop as an opportunity to criticize President Joe Biden for what she described as ignoring the flow of migrants entering the country illegally.
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales accompanied Haley on her trip to his congressional district. Haley and Gonzales have been critical of the Biden administration's border policies, the former on Monday arguing that the issues only ripple out through the rest of the country.
"This is a crisis for every American family," she said. "When they leave Del Rio or Eagle Pass, they're not staying here. They're coming to your states; they're going to your schools and your hospitals. They are now taking up your taxpayer dollars."
"We need to enforce the laws that are already in the books," Gonzales added.
Haley is the former governor of South Carolina and also was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration.
She announced her run for the Republican nomination in February. She faces a formidable field of candidates, including Trump, her former boss.
Haley has avoided criticizing Trump by name, including in a speech last month at a conservative gathering, and instead has noted how the GOP had lost so many national elections in recent years.
"We are a country of laws. The second we stop being a country of laws, we give up everything we believe in," Haley said, emphasizing that Border Patrol officials need to be able to do their job, suggesting they're being limited in their capabilities.
Asked about the length of the immigration process, Haley started by saying it's unfair to those who put in all the time to come to the U.S. the correct way compared to those who crossed the border by illegal means.
Haley told the crowd last month: “If you’re tired of losing, then put your trust in a new generation,” a remark seen as a jab at the 76-year-old Trump.