Former President Donald Trump recently conceded that his administration's approach to immigration enforcement might have been excessively rigorous. This admission came during his initial sit-down interview following last week's midterm elections.
Speaking with CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat, Trump addressed a range of subjects, primarily focusing on the Democratic Party's significant gains in the recent elections, which included victories even in traditionally Republican areas such as Texas.
During their discussion, Douthat inquired whether Trump's stringent policies on immigration and deportation contributed to the Republican Party's setbacks.
"I think it both helped and hurt," Trump responded. He elaborated, "I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border…I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out."
In the extended version of the interview released online, Trump also stated, "We had 25 million people come in through Biden over a four-year period, and many of those people were — as you know, they were from prisons, they were drug dealers, they were from mental institutions."
However, Trump also acknowledged that many undocumented immigrants residing in the country were "good" individuals, a factor he believes likely led to public opposition to his policies.
"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. 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."
Douthat then directly asked, "So you think your deportation policy — went too far?"
Trump replied, "I think it was — too tough…I think it might be too tough, yeah," adding, "And I think ultimately that hurt me."
Assessing Political Impact
Trump's comments highlighted a perceived dichotomy in public sentiment regarding immigration. He suggested that while a segment of the population supports strict enforcement and deportation, another significant portion believes that undocumented individuals who are employed and contributing to society, such as those working in landscaping or hospitality, should be permitted to remain in the country, especially if they are paying taxes.
Potential for Future Immigration Deals
The former president also indicated that reaching an immigration agreement with the incoming Democratic Congress could be "doable." He suggested that such a deal might be achievable by sidestepping the more extreme factions on both sides of the debate—those who advocate for the deportation of all undocumented immigrants versus those who oppose any deportations.
Furthermore, Trump expressed his belief that many Democrats are open to collaborating on border enforcement. He specifically mentioned incoming Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico as an example of a Democrat potentially willing to engage in such cooperation.