Donald Trump selected an Arizona audience to deliver his much-anticipated speech on immigration Wednesday night, embracing the state in his opening remarks.
“I am so glad to be back in Arizona, a state that has a very, very special place in my heart," he said to cheers from a packed hall at the Phoenix Convention Center. "I love the people of Arizona, and together, we are going to win the White House in November."
Trump surrounded himself with Republican politicians from the state, including Gov. Doug Ducey, state Treasurer Jeff DeWit and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who all spoke before Trump took the stage. Arpaio lauded Trump's call for a wall on the Mexican border.
“Now, Donald Trump, wants to build a wall," Arpaio said. " … Well, who’s going to pay for it? I don’t really care who pays for it; just get it built.”
In his speech, Trump spelled out an approach to immigration unchanged from what he’s been saying for a year on the campaign trail: build a wall to stop illegal immigration and deport those in the country illegally.