Donald Trump Softens his Stance on Illegal Immigration

You can’t always get what you want, even if you happen to be a presidential candidate; it takes compromise to win the nation’s favor, and that seems to be exactly what Donald Trump is doing now. 

When it comes to illegal immigration, Donald Trump told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly that he just wants to “follow the law.” This comment is a far cry from calling illegal immigrants “rapists” and promising to hunt down every one of the 11+ million illegal immigrants currently living in the US. 

“We’re going to obey the existing laws,” said Trump on Monday. “Now, the existing laws are strong. The first thing we’re going to do, if and when I win, is we’re going to get rid of all the bad ones.” 

“We got gang members, we have killers – we have a lot of bad people that have to get out of this country,” continued Trump. “The police know who they are. They’re known by law enforcement.” The Republican nominee added that the nation’s “existing laws” will allow his future administration to deport these people “so fast your head will spin.”

As for the not-so-bad illegals, “we’re going to go through the process,” said Trump.

The billionaire gave credit to President Obama for deporting a “tremendous” number of illegals during his presidency. “Well, I’m going to do the same thing…we want to do it in a very humane manner,” he said. 

But the real estate mogul still wants to build a border wall, and he told Fox News host Sean Hannity that construction will start “almost immediately” after he takes the White House. When asked about immigrants with long-standing ties to the US, Trump told Hannity that “there certainly can be a softening, because we’re not looking to hurt people…but we’re going to follow the laws of this country.”

Meanwhile, his new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway insists Trumps stance on illegal immigrants hasn’t changed. 

Trump’s fluctuating views on immigration are part of a campaign overhaul that has given the GOP nominee a surprising boost in the polls, and Hillary’s lead has dropped from 7.6 to 4.3 during the past 2 weeks. 

Republican strategist Gianno Caldwell credits Trump’s new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, for the success: “With the changes that have been made thus far with the campaign, I’d expect to see a full turnaround in the polls.”

Editor’s note: Its still a bit early but Trump seems to be closing the margin in the polls versus Hillary. This will be a tight race.

An additional note, we have speculated the optimum strategy is to build the wall and not worry so much about the exising illegals until the wall is complete. Security and border control are the most pressing issues, nothing should distract from that goal. Once the tide of illegals is turned, it is likely the demeanor in the U.S. will likely change and solutions to the existing illegals can be discussed without the urgency of a perceived (and perhaps actual) invasion.