In a defining speech on immigration last week, Trump said “there will be no amnesty” as part of his agenda, but illegal aliens seeking legal status could “return home and apply for reentry”. He then told reporters on Monday that he wasn’t ruling out “anything” as it relates to granting such individuals legal status.
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson for a firm explanation of the candidate’s position. The transcript:
Katrina Pierson: What Mr. Trump says is that when it comes down to the end of his 10-point plan, he’ll make a decision. But first, he wants to make a commitment to Americans to fulfill everything that previous administrations failed to do, which is to secure the border and control the flow of immigration. Alisyn Camerota: But Katrina, this is different. KP: When it comes down to it, Mr. Trump’s governing principle is no amnesty— AC: This is a big deal, Katrina. The idea that he might be open to legal status, also known as amnesty— KP: It’s actually not. Immigration is not showing to be a top priority for Americans in this election cycle. AC: Yes, but he has made it a big deal of his campaign. And he has said that every single one of them had to leave. Now, it sounds as if he’s open to amnesty. KP: No, Alisyn, his governing principle is that if you are in this country illegally, you need to leave and return legally. That’s been his governing principle. He’s laid out these primary initiatives—one through ten, they’re on the website—so that he can let Americans know his priorities are not to go after families. His priorities are to go after the criminal aliens, after they build the wall, after they end catch-and-release, implement E-verify, and essentially eliminate all of the magnets that draw illegals into this country.
According to a Pew Research Center study of voter priorities in the 2016 election, 77 percent of Republican-leaning and Republican registered voters said immigration is “very important” to their vote, a 30-percentage point increase from 2012. Overall, 70 percent of registered voters say it’s very important, which is a 29-point hike from the last presidential election.
“Leave and return legally” has been a central part of Trump’s immigration platform throughout his campaign. He proposed such an idea in July of last year, and his son, Eric, blamed the press in November for “misconstruing” his father’s stance. “The point isn’t just deporting them, it’s deporting them and letting them back in legally. He’s been so clear about that, and I know the liberal media wants to misconstrue it, but it’s deporting them and letting them back legally,” he told Fox News.
This idea of “touchback” was advanced by former Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, in 2007, and as conservative writer Marc Thiessen pointed out in 2015, the New York Times deemed it “defensible”.
Still, there is the matter of Trump saying he won’t take any ideas off the table. Pierson said Tuesday morning that there isn’t anything erratic about that position, since Trump always promised to be a negotiator:
KP: Well, again, he has said from the beginning of this campaign, all the way back through the primary, that he was going to be a negotiator in Congress. His governing policy has not changed. If you’re in this country illegally, you should return to your home country and [re]enter legally. He has put out a primary initiative so that voters understand he’s going to secure the border, build the wall, and get control of the tracking and issuances of visas. Once he gets to that point, that will get us down to a reasonable number of illegals in this country. But we have to consider, Alisyn, after that, we are continuously hearing that there’s not 11 million people. There could be 20, there could be 30 million people. AC: We understand that it’s complicated. There’s all sorts of complications. KP: But hold on, this is important. You asked the question, let me answer it. This is important, because Mr. Trump can’t promise to deport every single illegal alien in the country if there’s 30 million. There’s not enough time in his presidency to do that, which is why he laid out his priorities.
