Similarly, in delivering a speech on immigration to Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday night, Trump insisted that Mexico would pay for a wall across the border with the United States 100%.
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In the speech, the Republican presidential candidate returned to a hard line position, backing away from a softer, more compassionate approach that he had signaled in recent weeks.
“Our message to the world will be this: You can not obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country”, Trump said.
“The plan he unveiled tonight is consistent with his efforts to restore law and order to our country”, he said. “Otherwise we don’t have a country”.
In his speech, Trump emphasized that his priority would be to quickly deport those among the undocumented population who have committed serious crimes.
Re: “After subdued trip to Mexico, Donald Trump talks tough on immigration in Phoenix”, Sept. 1 news story.
Following the visit, Trump further outlined his immigration policy in Phoenix, AZ, where he reassured the crowd Mexico would pay for the wall.
“It’s always 11 million”.
While polls show a large majority of Hispanic voters oppose Trump, the withdrawal of support from among of his small group of Latino backers underscores how hard it is for Trump to broaden his support with minorities and moderate voters.
Donald Trump vowed Wednesday “there will be no amnesty”, making his case for a United States less hospitable to, and accessible for, undocumented immigrants.
“We also have to be honest about the fact that not everyone who seeks to join our country will be able to successfully assimilate”, he said.
Perdue said the president’s focus on his immigration goals is also an attack on the American system of government. “At the same time, we will change our immigration screening procedures to help keep terrorists and extremists out of our country”, the 70-year-old business tycoon asserted.
Reading from a teleprompter in Cincinnati, Trump thanked Peña Nieto “for his gracious hospitality”.
The Republican presidential nominee has made the wall – and Mexico paying for it – a core element in his campaign. He added: “They’re great people, and great leaders, but they will pay for the wall”.
“We did discuss the wall”.
“And Mexico will pay for the wall”.
Perdue said he was impressed by the day’s work Trump put in. Pena Nieto remained silent on the issue at the event, but said later on Twitter he did raise the issue. Following their meeting, Peña Nieto claimed he had told Trump unequivocally that Mexico would not pay for such a wall – prompting Clinton to declare that Trump had “failed his first foreign test”.
Trump’s speech generated a flood of headlines about how the buzz surrounding his supposed pivot on immigration policy ended up a bust.
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“What we saw was a respectful attitude and discourse from Donald Trump”, presidential spokesman Eduardo Sanchez had said earlier, arguing that progress was made on the issue of trade after prior threats by Trump to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
