Standing at the United States-Mexico border, Sen. Ted Cruz took on President Barack Obama’s open-border immigration policies by recounting stories of home invasion and murder that have plagued Americans, Arizona residents and border ranchers.

Cruz emphasized his position on border security and against illegal immigration ahead of Tuesday’s Arizona presidential primary contest. Border security has been a central focus of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump that helped launch his popularity in the early stages of his campaign.

Cruz addressed reporters from on the border in Douglas, Arizona as shown on Fox Business:

Cruz says he’ll listen more than talk, so border region ranchers can describe the harrowing experiences they face on a day to day basis. He recounted how the Arizonans face volumes of drug trafficking. He said one woman told a story of being monitored by a drug smuggler who figured out where she hid her house key. That smuggler has somewhat regularly used that key to enter her home “take a shower, make a meal, wash the dishes, go to bed, sleep, get up and leave and lock the door behind him.”

Cruz also challenged Obama that if the border is as secure as the president says it is then he should try moving the White House down to the southern border. “The ranchers here deal every day with the threats, the threats that tragically took the life of a well-respected rancher not to far from here. Threats that challenge our basic safety and security.”

Cruz spoke of ranchers who come across dead bodies left behind by smugglers and the negligible and nonexistent border fence. “Far too often [human smugglers] abandon women or children, those who are sick, they abandon them in the desert to die. This is a national security crisis. And it’s a crisis that the federal government is refusing to do it’s job in solving.” He described the smugglers as “hardened, vicious, violent criminals.”

Cruz also brought in a father who tells the story of how his young adult son was murdered by a cartel member illegal alien for no apparent reason. Steve Ronnebeck appears in a new ad supporting Cruz telling the story of his son and stating the he trusts Cruz to tear up Obama’s de facto amnesty executive action on immigration.

“I trust Ted Cruz,” Ronnebeck says in the ad, “I trust that he’s going to do the things he says he’s going to do.” Ronnebeck, who lost his 21-year-old son Grant in January 2015, wrote a detailed explanation of his support for Cruz in a February article for Breitbart News.

Cruz tweeted an image of his trip to the Arizona border with a link to his immigration plan for America:

Getting a firsthand account of challenges facing law enforcement at Arizona/Mexico border https://t.co/B9NC3eJOvd pic.twitter.com/cITkW7XXuf — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 18, 2016

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry also appeared at the border press conference the day after making several Arizona stops to stump for Cruz. The Texas senator also made mention of and thanked Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and Arizona State Representative David Gowan who were also present.

Trump has won the endorsement of two prominent Arizonans in former Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

In recent days Cruz picked up the endorsement of Arizona Rep. David Schweikert. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) endorsed Cruz last week.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana