DEL RIO, Texas — Nikki Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor received a firsthand account of how the current border crisis is impacting residents living along the Texas border with Mexico. On Monday, Haley met with law enforcement officers, private business owners, and border residents who gave the candidate their take on the continuing border crisis. Haley, accompanied by Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX), began the border tour with stops in Del Rio and Eagle Pass, Texas, two of the busiest areas for migrant crossings in the nation.
Haley met with employees of the San Antonio Shoemakers Factory in Del Rio and heard firsthand about business operations conducted at the factory less than two miles from the Rio Grande. The factory employs more than 500 workers in the small border town. Just prior to the tour, Haley visited with the Tambunga family who lost two relatives in a vehicle crash that involved a migrant smuggler in Ozona, Texas. A grandmother and granddaughter were killed during the crash that occurred as the migrant smuggler attempted to flee from authorities at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
2024 Republican Presidential Primary Candidate Nikki Haley visits factory workers in Del Rio near the Texas border with Mexico. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
The former governor and U.N. ambassador toured the Rio Grande in Del Rio while accompanied by Representative Gonzales. The tour took place near an area where more than 30,000 mostly Haitian migrants were held by the Border Patrol in a makeshift campsite in September 2021 after they crossed the Rio Grande. In the time since, the Del Rio Sector of the Border Patrol became one of the top migrant crossing spots nationwide.
Local rancher Marshall Whaley told the Republican presidential candidate that migrant crossings through his property threaten his cattle business. “When our fences get cut, cattle get loose and pose a liability to the public that results in a mandatory quarantine of the animals to reduce the spread of ticks,” Whaley told the ambassador. “That gets costly,” he emphasized.
2024 Republican Presidential Primary Candidate Nikki Haley talks with a Texas rancher about the impact of migrant crossings on his property and business. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
In March, as reported by Breitbart Texas, more than 161,000 migrants were apprehended by the Border Patrol along the southwest border. According to a source within CBP, of that total, nearly 25,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the Rio Grande within the Del Rio Sector alone.
During the tour, Haley told Breitbart Texas releasing migrants at the border contributed to the current crisis. She added that she supports “catch and deport” instead of “catch and release”.
In South Carolina, Haley signed a law that mandated the statewide use of E-Verify and required police officers to contact federal immigration officials after arresting migrants within the state.
Haley culminated the tour with a press conference in Eagle Pass. The candidate elaborated on the need to designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations telling reporters, “We have had enough fentanyl cross the border to kill every American citizen — it’s the leading cause of death for people between 18 and 49.” She told reporters actions need to be taken that force China to stop shipments of the drug to Mexico — “China knows what they are doing as well,” Haley stated.
Haley also outlined a stringent platform on immigration including requiring employers to use E-Verify nationwide and the hiring of 25,000 new Border Patrol agents and ICE personnel in place of the 87,000 IRS agents the current administration hopes to hire. Haley says her border plan would prohibit sanctuary states and cities from giving taxpayer funds to migrants as well.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.