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President Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes that his immigration enforcement was too tough and hurt Republicans in the midterms, while DHS said ICE is not slowing down.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
US President Donald Trump said his immigration crackdown was "too tough" and played a part in his party's losses in the midterm elections, in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes programme that aired on Sunday evening.
Trump said he deserved an "A plus" for closing up the border and "very high marks" for getting criminals out. But he said the policy also took people who had good jobs and whose only violation was entering the country illegally.
"I think it was too tough," the president said.
He said immigration "both helped and hurt" Republicans in the midterms and that he would "love to do something on immigration" with congressional Democrats, without offering details.
The Department of Homeland Security said it was not backing away from the crackdown. A DHS spokesperson told the BBC: "ICE is NOT backing away or slowing down."
A White House spokeswoman said the administration "will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorise our communities."
ICE sources told CBS that officials have been instructed to aim for about 2,700 arrests of illegal immigrants per day, an increase from an earlier 2,000 daily arrest target.
Election day polling indicated immigration was the third most important issue for midterm voters, after the economy and the state of democracy. Democrats secured sweeping congressional victories, with a swing of Latino voters towards Democrats in historically conservative states such as Texas contributing to their success.
Vice-President JD Vance wrote in an online post that he was open to changing enforcement, for instance by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour. Trump promoted Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff on Friday. Miller is widely seen as the architect of the administration's hardline immigration policy during the first and second Trump presidencies.
Enforcement sweeps this year spurred anti-ICE demonstrations in cities including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. In Minneapolis, two US protesters were fatally shot by immigration agents.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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