Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley Clash in Republican Presidential Debate

The race to win the quickly approaching Iowa caucuses ran through a CNN debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in which the front-runner was again absent and only two candidates made the debate cut: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

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DeSantis and Haley took the stage Jan. 10 for the fifth Republican presidential debate and fired a frenzy of attacks at each other’s records and positions. In an often testy faceoff, Haley repeatedly touted a new website, DeSantisLies.com, while DeSantis clapped back at Haley over Social Security, education and immigration.

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Former President Donald Trump, who had skipped the previous four Republican debates, skipped this one, too. He instead participated in a Fox News town hall, also in Des Moines.

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Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who participated in the previous Republican debate in December in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, did not qualify. Candidates needed at least 10% support in three CNN-approved national or Iowa polls – including one poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced on the day of the debate that he was dropping out of the race.

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Immigration

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DeSantis: “Nikki Haley also opposed the border wall in 2016.”

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This is true. When Haley was asked at a 2015 luncheon about Trump’s pitch for a border wall, she said a wall alone wasn’t enough to secure the border. She emphasized that agents, technology, and investments were also necessary to address illegal immigration.

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“Because a wall is not going to do it,” Haley said Sept. 2, 2015. “You’ve got to have commitment of ground troops, equipment, money, all of that to bring it together. Then you’re being serious about tackling illegal immigration.”

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As a presidential candidate, Haley has said she wants to finish building a border wall.

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School disruption and housing migrants in New York City

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During a back-and-forth on immigration, DeSantis mentioned a Brooklyn, New York, school.

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“Think about what’s happening to our country. Just this week, we saw the news that a school in Brooklyn, New York, had the kids stay home,” DeSantis said. “They were not able to go to school, (were) told, ‘You can’t go get an in-person education.’ Why? Because the city’s commandeering the school to house illegal aliens in it.”

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DeSantis’ characterization is inaccurate. He is referring to a single-day displacement because of severe weather. No migrants remained in the high school after Jan. 10. Classes at the high school are scheduled to resume in person Jan. 11.

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Migrants entering the U.S. during Biden administration

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DeSantis attacked President Joe Biden’s immigration record.

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“Biden’s let in 8 million people just in four years. They all have to go back,” DeSantis claimed Jan. 10.

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This talking point relies on a misleading read of immigration data. Immigrant encounters are different from admissions. PolitiFact fact-checked a similar claim in September and also rated it false. Nationwide data up to November 2023 shows that immigration officials have encountered migrants 8.1 million times under the Biden administration.