After suggesting he was open to negotiating a deal with Democrats on an immigration policy that he described as too tough, President Donald Trump on Monday defended his administration’s deportation policy and said he was opposed to any immigration deal that would include “amnesty” for immigrants living in the US illegally.
The comments from Trump came after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Monday also said that while he has been fielding calls from Democrats interested in working on immigration policy, he was adamantly opposed to any deal that would include amnesty.
The midterm elections highlighted voters’ disaffection toward the administration’s hard-line immigration enforcement activities. But the comments from both Trump and Mullin reflected the mixed messaging from the administration in the aftermath of the election and emphasised how complicated it will be for a new Congress controlled by Democrats to find any common ground when it comes to the issue of immigration.
Immigration has long been one of the most intractable issues facing Congress, with any deal that gives people in the country illegally a pathway to resolve their status often characterised by anti-immigration critics as amnesty. But advocates have said that longtime immigrants who’ve lived in the US for years and worked and raised families here deserve a way to come out of the shadows and legalise their status.
“There won’t be amnesty,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Somebody suggested, will there be amnesty? No, but — they came in. They knew the law.”
Trump defended his administration’s deportation policy as “very strong.” Asked if he had spoken with Stephen Miller, his newly promoted chief of staff who was the architect of his immigration crackdown, about immigration changes, Trump said no.
“My policy hasn’t changed,” he said, adding that the focus will be on removing “the worst of the worst.”
