Donald Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway clarified her boss’ immigration stance Tuesday night following weeks of pundit talk the Republican nominee would only deport criminal illegal aliens and not millions of non-violent immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
“You will hear consistent Donald Trump in this way. No amnesty, no legalization, no sanctuary cities,” Conway told Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor. “The people who have committed a crime are gone. And then he wants to see what we are left with. Is it 5 million? Is it 10 million? Is it 30 million? He will address that tomorrow and I think you will see one of the toughest speeches on illegal immigration in modern political history.”
Trump is scheduled to lay out his full immigration policy during a speech in Phoenix, Ariz., Wednesday. His campaign had previously planned the message for last week, but bumped it, saying the nominee was still forming his stance after a meeting with Hispanic leaders.
The delay and Trump’s recent ommission of the phrase “deportation force” had prompted some to speculate Trump was evolving to more of a moderate stance in a last-ditch effort to court Latino vote.
Conway, who joined the Trump campaign earlier this month, insisted Trump is studying up on immigration law and other public policies, partly in preparation for his debates against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton next month.
“I can assure you that every day he is talking about policy, reading on policy, discussing policy with other experts,” Conway said. “We feel like one piece of our debate prep is going out there and giving these speeches … and so when you are actually laying out your plan, you are ready for the debate.”
Conway also criticized Clinton for focusing on memorizing attacks against Trump rather than buffing up her policy knowledge and focusing on the issues.
“Why is she so afraid of? Why not debate Donald Trump on the issues? I will tell you why. The issues favor Donald Trump. Americans are dissatisfied about Obamacare. They are worried about economic security. They don’t like the fact that she refers to ISIS as our, quote, determined enemies rather than savage murderer he is. They want to talk about energy and infrastructure and education,” Conway finished.
