Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warned a crowd at the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association Thursday that Americans need to "wake up" to the fact many people aren't crossing the border with the intentions of looking for work and are coming with "other motives."
"Increasingly, when you look at the list, when I was down there earlier in the year, at the countries of origin, it's not just Mexico, it's not central America, or even South America," the Wisconsin governor said in footage clipped the Democratic research firm American Bridge.
Walker said his trip to the border showed him that "a good number" of people are coming from Indonesia and Morocco and "other places around the world." He said many of these people weren't looking for jobs but instead had "other motives."
"There's a good number from Indonesia, there are from Morocco, and other places around the world, many of whom aren't looking for work in the United States. They've got other motives and we need to wake up to that. So, securing the border is important, and on the larger part on immigration, securing the border is a key part of immigration."
Walker's position on immigration has been fluid over the past several years. He once expressed support for citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He changed his view to oppose citizenship for undocumented immigrants and has publicly acknowledged a change on the issue. A Walker aide previously cited President Obama's executive action on immigration as a driving force for the change.
A Walker spokeswoman did not return a request for comment.