United States President Donald Trump has said his immigration policy may have been too extreme for voters, conceding that his deportation policy had damaged his Republican Party’s performance in the last week’s midterm elections.
During his first television interview since his party lost control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate last week, Trump said some voters were unhappy with his administration’s controversial deportation drive, which led to widespread protests .
“I think it might be too tough,” he told CBS’s 60 Minutes programme, which aired on Sunday.
He said he may be able to work with the new Democratic-controlled Congress on some kind of immigration agreement.
“The deal would be we would work something out,” he said, adding, “I think that’s something that’s actually doable.”
The interview was aired after he appointed Stephen Miller, the chief architect of his hardline immigration policy, to replace Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, prompting questions about the direction of his immigration policy.
In a post on X, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, “Trump says his immigration crackdown went too far”, adding, “Apparently, his solution was to put the man responsible for it in charge of the White House. That’s not a course correction. That’s a promotion.”
Trump had promised an immigration crackdown during his campaign to return to office, blaming undocumented migrant “killers” and “drug dealers” for soaring crime.
Extensive operations to detain and deport immigrants were launched in multiple US cities, causing arrests to soar.
Two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were killed by federal officers during protests against the operations.
Democrats have said oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security is a priority for the new Congress.
During his interview, Trump said a moderate immigration deal would still deport criminals, but allow “good people” who had lived and worked in the country “paying taxes” to stay.
