(NewsNation) — Fresh off her primary win, Kari Lake, a Trump-endorsed GOP candidate for Arizona governor, told NewsNation her No. 1 priority for the U.S.-Mexico border at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday.
“We’re going to issue a declaration of invasion and get the ball rolling, protecting our own state,” she said while attending CPAC in Texas.
Lake won the Republican nomination for governor in Arizona, holding off Karrin Robson, and now faces Democrat Katie Hobbs.
Lake uses incendiary language in her choice of words to describe her approach to border security.
Declaring an “invasion” is legally questionable territory for a sitting governor and would spark court challenges given that courts have generally disallowed states from enforcing immigration law.
Lake has made the policy a central part of her campaign, saying on social media, “Day 1: I take my hand off the Bible, give the Oath of Office and we Declare an Invasion on our Southern Border.”
While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has faced increased pressure to take that action — and thus far has been reluctant to do so — Lake has doubled down, reiterating the campaign promise.
“Then we’re going to blow up the drug tunnels and I don’t care if there’s a Narco-Terrorist in there when we do it,” she added in a post on social media.