Former President Donald Trump has conceded that his administration's aggressive immigration enforcement and deportation policies were "too tough" and may have contributed to the Republican Party's historic losses in the recent midterm elections. In a rare admission, Trump stated that while voters supported his efforts to secure the border, the mass deportations were divisive.
"I think it both helped and hurt. I think I got an A+ for closing up the border," Trump said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, referring to border security efforts. However, he acknowledged that targeting "people that had good jobs" and removing them from the country, even if they had entered illegally, was "tough."
Trump specifically mentioned the discomfort Americans might feel witnessing long-term workers, such as hotel maids or landscapers who paid taxes, being rounded up and deported. This marks a significant shift in tone for the former president, who had previously made mass deportations a central pillar of his immigration platform.
He suggested that some within his administration favored removing nearly all undocumented immigrants, regardless of their circumstances. Trump's comments come shortly after he appointed immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as his new White House Chief of Staff, a move that drew sharp criticism from Democrats.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed his inability to work with Miller, citing the chief of staff's association with "cruelty and hate." California Governor Gavin Newsom described Miller as a "vile thug" and called his appointment an "insult" to voters who supported Democrats, referencing Miller's role in developing the Trump administration's immigration policies.
Despite these internal and external tensions, Trump indicated a willingness to negotiate with Democrats on immigration reform, potentially including pathways to legal status for undocumented immigrants who have resided and worked in the U.S. for years. "I think that's something that's actually doable," he stated in the interview. The former president believes a consensus could be reached with Democrats, who achieved significant victories in the recent elections.