President Donald Trump indicated a willingness to adjust immigration enforcement strategy following Republican losses in the midterm elections, telling CBS News' "60 Minutes" that internal enforcement efforts targeting immigrants without criminal records had alienated voters.
The administration initially focused on immigrants who committed serious crimes after entering the country illegally, but later shifted toward those with final removal orders who had no additional criminal records. Media coverage highlighting arrests of non-criminal immigrants contributed to a political climate where some Democrats campaigned on abolishing or restricting ICE.
Democrats won control of the House with at least 254 seats and at least 54 Senate seats in the midterms. Days later, Trump named immigration as a top priority for working with the new Democratic majority, acknowledging enforcement had both helped and hurt his party.
Trump distinguished between border enforcement, which he graded "A+" for stopping illegal crossings, and interior enforcement. He said he received "very high marks for getting the bad ones out" but was hurt politically by removing people who "had good jobs" and whose only violation was entering illegally.
The president noted a national divide: some believe all illegal immigrants should be deported, while others think those working in jobs like landscaping or hotels should be allowed to stay if they are "good people."
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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