Former President Donald Trump conceded that his administration's immigration enforcement policies might have been "too tough" and could have negatively impacted Republican results in the recent midterm elections. In his first interview since the midterms, Trump told CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat that while he received high marks for border security, the approach may have alienated some voters.

"I think it both helped and hurt," Trump said regarding his immigration policies. "I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border…I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out." He also mentioned that "25 million people came in through Biden over a four-year period, and many of those people were from prisons, they were drug dealers, they were from mental institutions."

However, Trump acknowledged that some immigrants who entered the country illegally were "good people," which he believes led to backlash. "But I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that — that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally," he explained. "Now, there is a large part of the country that think that they should be put out. And there's a large part of the country that think that they should be allowed to stay if they're good people working in a landscaping company, or working in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases, paying taxes. And there's a large group of people who think that they should be allowed to stay."

When asked directly if his deportation policy "went too far," Trump responded, "I think it was — too tough…I think it might be too tough, yeah. And I think ultimately that hurt me."

Trump also indicated that a potential immigration deal with the incoming Democratic Congress could be "doable," distinguishing between groups that advocate for the deportation of all undocumented immigrants and those who believe in allowing them to stay. He cited incoming Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico as an example of Democrats willing to work with him on border enforcement.

Immigration was noted as the sole issue where Republicans held an advantage over Democrats in a Fox News voter poll conducted from October 19 to November 3, 2026.