Daniel Torok / The White House / Public domain
President Donald Trump said his deportation policy might be “too tough” and expressed interest in reaching an immigration deal with Democrats, pointing to workers who have spent years in the United States as people whose situations could be addressed.
“I think it might be too tough, yeah,” Trump told Ross Douthat when pressed on whether his deportation policy had gone too far. The remarks appear in the full interview transcript. The interview was recorded Friday at the White House and aired Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Asked what he would like to work on with a Democratic majority, Trump said: “I’d love to do something on immigration.” He said his immigration approach had both helped and hurt him politically, distinguishing his defense of border enforcement and removing criminals from the effect of deporting people with jobs.
Trump described the difficulty of removing longtime hotel workers and said there were competing views about how broadly deportations should apply. He acknowledged that people who wanted everyone removed worked in his administration, while describing another position that would remove violent criminals but “let the people that are here, and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years, work a deal for them.”
Asked whether Democrats would be interested in that kind of agreement, Trump answered: “I think so, yeah. People have already called me.” He did not identify the callers in that answer or set out an agreed proposal.
The comments signaled an interest in negotiations rather than an enacted change. Trump offered no legislative text, detailed eligibility rules or implementation timetable, and the interview did not establish a change to deportation policy or a completed agreement with Democrats.
The full transcript contained a further acknowledgement of the political cost: “I think ultimately–” Trump began, before adding: “–that hurt me.” Douthat pressed him specifically about some form of legal status for workers, but Trump answered with the example of longtime hotel staff rather than defining a legal mechanism.
Douthat also raised James Talarico’s stated interest in working on immigration. Trump responded that others, including people from South Carolina and numerous election winners, had said similar things. That exchange did not establish which individuals had personally called Trump or that they had agreed to a common plan.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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