“On Day One, I am going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal immigrants from this country – including removing the hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants that have been released into US communities under the incompetent Obama-Clinton Administration”.
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Tapper pressed Pence several times on whether Trump specifically still wants a “deportation force” – which he’d called for almost a year ago. It was part of Trump’s hard-line stance on his signature issue of immigration.
Trump rose to the top of the GOP field by stoking the nativist anger of his conservative followers with vows to deport all the undocumented workers in this country, and build a wall between the USA and Mexico, before allowing some of “the good ones” to return to the US.
Trump, speaking on the Iowa State Fairgrounds with hay bales stacked behind him, sought to clarify his views on how to overhaul the USA immigration system after saying earlier in the week that he was softening on his plan to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump linked illegal immigration and employment Saturday, pledging to start deporting offenders as soon as he is sworn in should he become the White House’s next occupant.
Donald Trump isn’t making it easy for top supporters and advisers, from his running mate on down, to defend him or explain some campaign positions.
“We will have a mechanism for dealing with people in this country that – you heard the word ‘humanely.’ It will be fair and tough, but there will be no path to legalization and citizenship unless people leave the country”, said Pence, the governor of in, adding that some specifics will be provided soon at a later time. “And I think they’re nervous over in [the] Clinton camp”.
Trump’s comments moved away from the softer tone he adopted in recent days, proposing a tracking system for visa recipients as well as the swift removal of “criminal, illegal immigrants” – phrasing which leaves unclear whether he is again proposing mass deportation of 11 million people.
So has he scrapped the idea of removing all undocumented immigrants from the country? “I think that’s deeply offensive”, Pence said.
Hillary Clinton vigorously defended her family’s foundation against Donald Trump’s criticism on Friday and declared she’s confident there will be no major further accusations involving the foundation, her.
Trump also made headlines during the primary for using the term “anchor babies” to describe the US-born children of undocumented immigrants – suggesting he didn’t support the citizenship status granted by the Constitution to those children.
Trump has long tried to portray Clinton as without sufficient stamina to serve as president, despite her reputation as one of the most traveled secretaries of state and profiles detailing her work ethic.
“This is an example of pay-to-play politics the American people are sick and exhausted of”, he said.
His surrogates on Sunday refused to comment on Trump’s reaction to the fatal shooting of National Basketball Association star Dwyane Wade’s cousin Friday, as she pushed her baby in a stroller in Chicago.
And they didn’t bother defending his initial response Saturday to the killing of a mother as she walked her baby on a Chicago street.
Trump’s first tweet about the shooting ended this way: “Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
“I promise you from the first day in office – the first thing I am going to do – the first piece of paper, the first piece of paper that I’m going to sign is we’re going to get rid of these people, day one, before the wall, before anything”, Trump said in Iowa.
“We can continue with the leadership that has left us with risky streets in our cities, failing schools, no jobs”, he said.
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This comes as the Republican’s campaign vows the candidate, who has been appealing lately to minority voters for support, plans to go into African-American communities to seek their vote.
