WASHINGTON – South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley used the formal Republican response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday to try softening the tough stance toward immigrants embraced by some of the party’s leading presidential candidates.
Haley, herself the U.S.-born daughter of Indian immigrants, said the country is facing the most dangerous security threat since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices,” she said in excerpts of her remarks released early by Republicans. “We must resist that temptation.”
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Haley, who has been mentioned by some as a potential Republican vice-presidential candidate this year, said no one who works hard and follows the laws “should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
In the excerpts, Haley did not mention Republican presidential candidates. But the front-runner so far, businessman Donald Trump, has called for deporting millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Two other contenders, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have battled over which of them has the tougher record on the issue.
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