Former President Donald Trump has indicated a potential softening of his stance on immigration, suggesting that some past policies may have been too stringent and potentially harmed his party electorally. This comes as Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump's earlier immigration agenda, returns to a significant role as chief of staff.
In a recent interview, Trump acknowledged that certain immigration measures might have been "too tough." He also floated the possibility of a bipartisan immigration deal, telling CBS's "60 Minutes" that "there's a large part of the country that thinks 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." This marks a notable departure from his previous rhetoric and policies.
The appointment of Stephen Miller as chief of staff, however, signals a potential continuation of a hardline immigration approach. Miller, who served as a senior aide during Trump's first term, is widely recognized as the driving force behind many of the administration's most restrictive policies, including proposals for high daily arrest quotas for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
This juxtaposition of Trump's conciliatory comments and Miller's hardline influence creates uncertainty about the future direction of immigration policy. In the past, Trump has shown fleeting openness to legislative compromises on immigration. In his first term, he proposed a deal that would have included a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, coupled with increased border security funding and restrictions on legal immigration. However, these initiatives did not advance.
More recently, in June 2025, Trump expressed concerns about the impact of immigration enforcement on sectors like agriculture and hospitality. Yet, this apparent shift in focus did not persist for long.
With Miller now in a prominent position, significant policy changes remain unlikely, particularly given the opposition from within his own party and from incoming Democratic leadership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has characterized Miller as a "stone-cold racist" and stated he has "zero interest in working with that kind of individual."