Trump says mass deportation of 'terrific' undocumented immigrants can wait
In his first on-air interview since winning the election, President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday told CBS mass deportation of undocumented immigrants who do not have criminal records is not high on his agenda.
"What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers," he said, a project he estimates will remove two or three million people. Then, he will secure the border. Only once both those goals are achieved and "after everything gets normalized," Trump said, would he make a determination on whether to pursue mass deportation of the eight to nine million undocumented immigrants who would remain in the United States. Trump called those other immigrants "terrific people," a marked change in tone from his past suggestions that most undocumented immigrants are criminals.
In the same conversation, Trump indicated he would be fine building a border fence instead of a border wall in some places along the U.S. border with Mexico, an apparent contrast from his previous description of a "big, beautiful, powerful wall" with a "big, beautiful door." However, this vision is more in line with what critics left and right have long said about construction practicalities.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watch the full clip below, or the entire interview when it airs Sunday evening on CBS. Bonnie Kristian
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants