The White House on Monday morning wouldn’t rule out the administration working with Democrats on a “deal” for illegal immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for more than a decade as Republicans prepare to lose control of Congress in January.
President Donald Trump, in his first sit-down interview since sweeping GOP midterm losses, opened the door to the possibility of considering amnesty.
“The President never said the word amnesty,” a White House official insisted to Fox News Digital.
“We want Democrats to show their cards,” the official revealed.
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They said, “There has never been a President stronger on immigration enforcement than President Trump.”
“Thanks to his efforts more than 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. and we have the most secure border in American history. Like the President has said, he’s willing to work with anyone to improve the lives of Americans and Make America Safe Again.”
In a “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday, host Ross Douthat asked Trump how he is open to working with Democrats on immigration as he enters a lame-duck final stretch of his presidency.
“I’d love to do something on immigration,” the president replied. “I think [immigration] both helped and hurt. I think I got an A+ for closing up the border. I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out, but I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation or breaking of the law — that was that they came into the country illegally.”
Trump, however, maintained that there are people in the United States who want to see all illegal aliens deported.
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But, Trump said, “if they’re good people working in a landscaping company or working in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases paying taxes, and there’s a large group of people that think they should be allowed to stay.”
“When you go into a hotel and you have a woman that’s working there as a maid, as a cleaner as a this as a that, as a waitress, a lot of good things, great jobs, and all of a sudden they’re being taken out of the country, it’s tough. It’s a tough thing,” he said, adding that people who he called “far-right” want deportations regardless of whether the illegal alien is working.
While Trump didn’t say “amnesty,” as the White House noted, he signaled in the interview his willingness to “work a deal” for people who have been in the United States illegally for “10 and 15 years” who haven’t committed other crimes.
Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., a longtime proponent of giving legal status to illegal aliens, celebrated Trump’s comments on X.
“Well done, Mr. President! What you described on 60 Minutes is what the Dignity Act is all about,” she said in the post.
Salazar’s Dignity Act would offer legal status to people who have been in the United States continuously since 2020, provided they haven’t committed other crimes and pay a restitution fee and back taxes.
The White House wouldn’t clarify what such a deal could entail when asked Monday.
Notably, the interview was taped before Stephen Miller, a notorious immigration hawk, was selected to be Trump’s new chief of staff.
Immigration restrictionism has been Trump’s calling card since he first ran for president beginning in 2015. His comments in the interview that aired Sunday drew a sharp reaction from those favor immigration restriction.
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“To be clear, if President Trump struck an amnesty deal with the Democrat-controlled Congress, it would be a bigger betrayal than starting the foolish war in Iran,” commentator Steve Cortes said on X, adding a clip of Trump promising “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” during a campaign rally in 2024.
“This plan absolutely guarantees that Texas never again votes Republican,” said radio show host Anthony Cumia. “More states will turn permanently blue if illegals are given amnesty. Regan did the same this and California became a forever democrat state. Trump can do the same to Texas. Disgusting.”
“Someone needs to tell Trump: Any amnesty deal with Democrats will destroy the Republican Party,” said X personality Kelly McCarty. “We voted for NO amnesty and mass deportations of ALL illegals. No compromises. No exceptions.”
