USA, Trump on the midterm elections: "Immigration policies have damaged me"

The US president admitted in an interview with CBS that some deportations carried out by his administration were "too harsh". Trump acknowledged that among those expelled were workers without serious records, while continuing to defend the border crackdown

Donald Trump has acknowledged that his deportation policy has been "too harsh". The admission came during an interview granted to correspondent Ross Douthat for the CBS program 60 Minutes, recorded on Friday 6 November and anticipated through some excerpts released in the last few hours.

A few days after the heavy defeat suffered by the Republicans in the mid-term elections, in an interview with 60 Minutes, Trump defended his actions on the economy and the war with Iran, while admitting that he had made communication errors on some economic issues and stating that his immigration policy was at times "too harsh".

While claiming success in fighting irregular immigration and strengthening border controls, Trump acknowledged that some expulsions involved people considered integrated into American society. Immigration "has both helped and hurt. But I'm sorry because we also expelled people who had good jobs, who had committed only one violation, or infraction of the law, and that was entering the country illegally." According to Trump, the country remains divided on the issue: on the one hand those who ask for the expulsion of all immigrants who entered the United States illegally, on the other those who believe that those who work, pay taxes and do not represent a danger should be able to stay.

The crackdown on immigration

An admission that is supported by the data. The hard line on immigration had significantly contributed to Trump's victory in the 2024 elections, riding the discontent of a part of the electorate towards the Biden administration's management of the borders. The results of the recent midterm elections have highlighted some cracks in the consensus. In fact, polls leading up to the polls indicate that a significant portion of voters believe that the White House's immigration policies have gone too far. The case of Texas is relevant, where many Hispanic voters who voted for Trump two years ago have returned to supporting the Democrats also due to concerns related to deportations.

Change at the top of the White House staff

The interview also anticipated important changes in the presidential entourage. A few hours later, Trump announced the exit of Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and her replacement with Stephen Miller. As reported by CBS, Miller is considered one of the main architects of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement strategy: last year he pushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make at least 3,000 arrests a day.