Donald Trump’s campaign in Arizona is centered on his hard line against illegal immigration, a stand that supporters embraced in a series of tense rallies ahead of Sunday’s presidential primary in the border state.
“Illegal immigration is gonna stop,” Trump said last night in Tucson. “It’s dangerous,” he said. “Terrible.”
Both in Phoenix and Tucson, Trump was introduced by former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who pushed tough immigration laws in office, and Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County sheriff who made his name by chasing down people who are in the country illegally. Protesters showed up at every event. In Phoenix, they blocked the main road into his outdoor rally for several hours before it started. In Tucson, they interrupted him and some were tossed from the event.
Trump was campaigning in Arizona ahead of Tuesday’s primary in which the winner will take all 58 delegates at stake.
Trump’s main rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich, are desperately trying to prevent the real estate mogul from accumulating the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination at the party’s national convention in July.