Trump acknowledges that his deportation policy was “too harsh”

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has acknowledged that his deportation policy was “too harsh.” The admission came in an interview for the CBS program 60 Minutes, broadcast on Sunday and recorded after last Tuesday's midterm elections, in which his party lost its majority in both houses of Congress. The president also appeared open to some type of agreement with the new Democratic majority to regulate the situation of immigrants who have been in the country for a long time and who do not have a criminal record. But after recording the interview, and before it was broadcast, the president announced the appointment of the architect of his tough immigration policy, the extremist Stephen Miller, as head of his Cabinet, a step that predicts that he will maintain the same toughness.

In the interview, 60 Minutes journalist Ross Douthat asked Trump if he thought he had gone too far with his deportation policy. "I think I got an A for closing the border (...). For expelling people, I get very good marks for removing the bad guys," the president responded.

However, he added: "But it hurts me to have also expelled people who had good jobs and whose only crime, or violation of the law, was having entered the country illegally. (...) I think it was too harsh," he admitted. Trump also said he would “love to do something on immigration” with congressional Democrats.

In the interview, Trump explained that within the United States there are contradictory opinions about what to do with irregular immigrants: whether to deport them all or open a way so that those who have been there for a long time, work, pay taxes and have not committed crimes can stay. According to him, some believe that “they should be allowed to stay if they are good people who work in a garden maintenance company, in hotels” and “in some cases, they pay taxes.”

And he was open to putting the focus of deportations on those who have committed serious crimes, but reaching some type of solution for those who have been in the country for some time without creating problems. “Let the people who are here, and in some cases ten and fifteen years, reach an agreement for them,” he noted. According to him, “I think it is something that is feasible.” Asked by the interviewer if he was referring to some type of agreement to regulate the status of workers that Trump had mentioned, the president confirmed that he was.

These statements come after Tuesday's elections, in which the Democrats regained the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate thanks to the mobilization of voters, very dissatisfied with the management of the Trump Administration. Immigration policy was among the reasons most cited by voters for this unrest: many recalled the shooting deaths of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in the mobilizations against the raids of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), the operations of that institution and other immigration measures, including mass deportations. Immigration policy, which had initially contributed to Trump's popularity during his first months in office, especially mobilized Latino voters to go to the polls last Tuesday.

Despite these statements, Trump named Miller as his new chief of staff on Friday, in a gesture that has caused consternation among Democrats and indicates that the strict immigration policy will remain without major changes. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned that “deportations will continue” in a message posted on social media a day after the election. The vice president himself, J.D. Vance also warned in a long text in X the day after the Republican electoral debacle against the temptations to soften measures in that area.

"In the coming months, there will be a lot of psychological manipulation. Expect to hear a few establishment politicians saying that the solution to our problems is an [immigration] amnesty. I am open to the idea that we could change how we enforce the law, focusing more on companies that hire illegal workers, for example. But anyone who advocates for an amnesty is lying to you," Vance wrote on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Trump assured this Sunday that he was “just joking” when he suggested that Dana White, executive director of the UFC, the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world, become his new spokesperson. "I was just joking, but Dana loves the idea and Dana is unique, he's fantastic. I don't know. If he were there, they wouldn't mess with him so much," the president told the media in Florida before boarding a plane to the White House.

Trump was referring to the proposal he published on Saturday in Truth Social for White to assume the position of White House spokesperson, a position that has remained vacant since October 16, when Katie Zacharia resigned just five days after assuming it, thus becoming the person who has held that position for the shortest time.

However, hours later, CNN reported that “a source familiar with the matter claimed that the executive director of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) rejected the unorthodox idea.”