Trump World Hits Nikki Haley Over Resurfaced Clip Of Her Telling Americans Not To Call Illegal Immigrants ‘Criminals’

Former President Donald Trump’s super political action committee is circulating a previous clip of then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley arguing against calling illegal immigrants “criminals.”

The former governor took part in a panel conversation with other Republican governors at The Aspen Institute in 2015, where they took questions from the audience and moderator over various topics, one of which being illegal immigration. While Haley has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration through a “catch and deport” policy as part of her campaign platform, during the 2015 clip she urged Americans not to call illegal immigrants “criminals.”

“I think that what we have to remember, and I have always believes, is that we are a country of laws, that’s what makes us strong,” Haley said. “We have to always be a country of laws. So it’s incredibly frustrating for a lot of people when they see the illegal immigrants being able to come across. It really is astonishing that after all of these years, D.C. hasn’t figured out how to build a wall. It really is, after all of what they spend.”

“Having said that, we are a country of immigrants. I am a proud daughter of Indian parents that reminded us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. They resent when people come here illegally,” Haley continued. “But let’s keep in mind, these people that are wanting to come here, they want to come here for a better life, too. They have kids, too. They have a heart, too. So, we don’t need to be disrespectful. We don’t need to talk about them as criminals — they’re not. They’re families that want a better life, and they’re desperate to get here. What we need to do is make sure that we have a set of laws that we follow, and that we go through with that.”

A Trump campaign account also reposted an article published by Breitbart on the resurfaced clip Wednesday evening. (RELATED: ‘Catch And Deport’: Nikki Haley Visits Border And Delivers Her Plan To Solve Crisis)

Haley’s campaign maintains she’s “always been tough on illegal immigration” in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“She passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration bills in the country in 2011 when Trump was still a Democrat. She has also said she has a different style and approach from Trump and doesn’t always agree with his incendiary language,” said AnnMarie Graham-Barnes, spokesperson for the Haley campaign. “Trump should spend more time explaining why he never fulfilled his signature promise to build a wall instead of desperately trying to mislead voters with lies.”

🚨🚨Nikki Haley says you shouldn’t call illegal immigrants “criminals.” pic.twitter.com/enDXAF7Ov4

— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 4, 2024

Haley became the first Republican presidential candidate to visit the southern border in early April, where she unveiled her immigration policy, including a return to the Trump-era policies like “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42. The former governor also proposed mandating an E-verify program for employers, firing IRS agents to hire more Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, ending taxpayer funding of illegal immigrants and defunding sanctuary cities.

“And then the one thing that could make the biggest difference, stop catch and release and go to catch and deport. When you start deporting illegal immigrants, they will stop coming,” Haley said at the time.

The resurfaced clip comes as Haley has seen a rise in national and key early primary state polling, where she has largely eclipsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place.

The RealClearPolitics average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Dec. 4 and Jan. 2, indicates Haley has 11% support behind only Trump. The former governor is also in second place in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and is narrowly behind DeSantis in third in Iowa.

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