Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has tapped Steve King, an infamous anti-immigrant Republican congressman, to serve as a national co-chair for his campaign.

Cruz announced on Wednesday that Iowa Rep. Steve King will take on a lead role in his campaign.

"Steve is an incredible leader and fighter for conservative principles," said Cruz in a statement. "Steve's experience taking on the Washington Cartel, fighting for the American people and protecting our liberties is an asset to this team."

Last year, King endorsed Cruz in November, describing the Texas senator as the "one man that stands out as the courageous conservative whom I believe can restore the soul of America."

Throughout his political career, King has caused a stir by making a number of xenophobic remarks. For instance, in 2013 he compared immigrant students to drug mules and cattle. According to him, for every valedictorian DREAMer who has been brought to this country, "...there's another 100 out there who, they weigh 130 pounds and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert," he said during an interview.

King, who is the representative for Iowa's 4th Congressional District, also described DREAMer Ana Zamora as "deportable" when she was invited as one of first lady Michelle Obama's guests at President Obama's State of the Union speech last year.

Last July, King also said that he was just as Hispanic as Julián Castro, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Following the announcement about King joining Cruz's campaign, the president of Latino Victory Fund sent Latin Post a statement calling Cruz's decision "the final nail in the coffin with Latinos."

"The road to the White House goes through the Latino community. Latinos are listening and Ted Cruz just proved once again that he is no different than Donald Trump and doesn't deserve our vote," said Cristóbal J. Alex.