Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign emphasizes her Indian immigrant parents’ journey to the United States.
Her mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa, faced limitations in India despite her education, while her father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, pursued higher education in Canada and the US.
“I am the proud daughter of Indian parents who reminded me everyday how blessed we were to live in this country,” Haley said. “My parents always told me that, even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.”
The couple’s experiences shaped Haley’s patriotism, yet she advocates strict immigration policies, citing her parents’ legal entry as a reason.
“When you didn’t have a lot of education in India, my mother actually was able to go to law school,” Haley said. “She was actually put up to be one of the first female judges in India, but because of the situation with women, she wasn’t allowed to sit on the bench. But how amazing for her to watch her daughter become governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations.”
“They came to the U.S. to tour for a year. Right before they went back, someone said, ‘You can’t leave; this is the best country,’ and they said, ‘We don’t have jobs,'” she said. “And by chance, my mom was offered a job to teach sixth-grade social studies, and my dad was offered one to become a professor. It happened to be in Bamberg, so that’s where they stayed.”
“He loves this country in the way that only a man who gave up a life of comfort and prestige elsewhere can,” Haley said of her father.
Despite her parents’ immigration story, Haley has taken a hardline stance on immigration, aligning with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s border control measures and emphasizing the importance of legal immigration.
“Governor Abbott is right: the state of Texas has every right to defend itself and its borders,” Haley wrote on X. “It’s absolutely ridiculous that Joe Biden is trying to stop governors from doing everything they can to protect their citizens. But it’s also nothing new; Biden was part of the administration that sued me when I passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country as governor of South Carolina.”
“Why are you letting them cut the line? My parents came here legally,” she said. “They put in the time; they put in the price. They are completely offended by what’s happened. And my mom always said if they don’t follow the law to come to this country, they won’t follow the law when they get to this country.”
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