Speaking to Sean Hannity of Fox News, Trump reiterated his opposition to “amnesty” but seemed to advocate for letting law-abiding illegal immigrants who have been in the country for a long time pay a fine so they can remain in the country.
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“There certainly can be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people”, Trump answered. We’re a country of borders.
“We are going to follow the laws of this country”, he added.
He has also promised to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. But he has hedged his stance in recent days, and during the taping he ruminated aloud about the fairness of breaking up families.
He sounded unsure of his own immigration position on Tuesday, at one point turning to the audience to survey them on the issue.
Experts suggest that Mr Trump is trying to broaden his appeal as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton climbs in national polls.
The Republican nominee said he “would come out with a decision very soon” about deportations. “Well, look, this is like a poll, this is like a poll”, Trump said. ‘Premedication, ‘ that’s a very – premedication, I think I like it. “It’s a very, very hard thing”. “And frankly, it’s leadership and it’s presidential”, she said.
Mr Trump had been scheduled to deliver a speech on immigration in Colorado today, but it was postponed, possibly till next week.
Trump’s latest comments came as Nigel Farage, an anti-immigration politician who was part of Britain’s successful campaign to leave the European Union, planned to address Trump’s rally in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday night.
At outlets like Breitbart, whose president Steve Bannon recently took over as CEO of Trump’s campaign, Republicans who support a path to legal status are frequently attacked as “amnesty” supporters who sold out the conservative base. He first suggested on Monday that he was open to allowing some immigrants to stay, suggesting that he wanted a “fair, but firm” policy.
During the primaries, he called for a “deportation force” to remove all 11 million undocumented immigrants, and a campaign aide said Wednesday his position hasn’t changed. That proposal excited many of his core supporters, but alienated Hispanic voters who could be pivotal in key states.
An impossibly tough stance on immigration – including an “ideological test”, a “deportation force”, and a big, handsome border wall – has been the foundation of Trump’s campaign since day one.
Trump’s campaign canceled a rally that was to take place this Friday in Las Vegas.
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Former New York City mayor and Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani accused the mainstream media over the weekend of hiding evidence, then encouraged doubters to “go online and put down ‘Hillary Clinton illness'”. Two officials with knowledge of the Trump campaign’s plans confirmed the topic was immigration.
