(NewsNation) — Ahead of their dueling trips to the southern border, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley blamed the ongoing immigration crisis on both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“The question I would ask Joe Biden is, 'Why did you let the illegal immigration situation get to this point?'" Haley told NewsNation in an exclusive interview. "And what I’d ask Donald Trump is, 'When we have the opportunity to strengthen asylum laws to get a stronger border bill? Why did you stop Congress from doing that?'”
The GOP presidential candidate said she would shut down the border, remove all of the people who have come illegally, strengthen asylum laws and bring back the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Under the Biden administration, there have been over seven million border apprehensions.
Trump recently encouraged House Republicans to kill a border bill that would have placed significant restrictions on immigration because it would hurt his election chances.
When asked about the potential economic impact that would have on businesses that rely on immigrants, Haley pointed to legal immigration as a way to address this, saying, “We need to do it based on merit, based on what we need so that our economy can grow, so that we can fill those jobs that we don't have right now.”
Haley has yet to win a state in the GOP primary, trailing front-runner Trump in both delegate count and polls.
She told NewsNation she is remaining in the race to fight for the direction of the party.
“This is a Republican Party that’s become about one man," Haley said. "I think that there are many Americans that want a Republican Party that’s about the American people. And going back to what those values were that made our party and our country great to start with.”
Super Tuesday is coming up March 5, with 16 states and more than a third of all delegates up for grabs in the GOP primary.