Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Tuesday he is open to “softening” laws dealing with illegal immigrants in a “Hannity” town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
His remarks were the latest sign he is considering softening a position he has taken since the onset of his campaign.
Hannity asked Trump if he would change current parts of the law to accommodate law-abiding citizens or longtime residents who have raised children in the U.S.
"There could certainly be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people," Trump answered. "We want people -- we have some great people in this country."
"We have some great, great people in this country. But we’re going to follow the laws of this country and what people don’t realize -- we have very, very strong laws,” he told Hannity.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has reiterated that if he is elected in November, he would deport the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.
He also said he wanted to follow the laws on immigration policy instead of creating new ones.
“We want to follow the laws, you know, we have very strong laws in this country. And you know Bush, and even Obama, sends people back. Now, we can be more aggressive on that but we want to follow the laws," he told Hannity. "If you start going around trying to make new laws in this country it’s a process that’s brutal. We want to follow the laws of the country, and if we follow the laws we can do what we have to do.”
During the town hall, the billionaire businessman polled the audience about what they would do about the immigration policy.
"So you have somebody who's been in the country for 20 years, has done a great job, and everything else," Trump said. "Do we take him and the family and her and him or whatever and send him out?"
His question was met by some cheers over suggestions that immigrants be allowed to stay, while others responded in roars when he suggested deporting them.
The Republican nominee then said he "would come out with a decision very soon" about deportations.
Trump had been scheduled to outline his immigration policies on Thursday in Colorado, but that speech has since been postponed, likely until next week.
His latest comments at the town hall come as he may be moving away from one of his signature proposals during the Republican primary. During an interview Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Trump suggested he wanted a “fair, but firm” immigration policy.
During early days of the primaries, Trump vowed to use a “deportation force” to round up and deport millions of illegal immigrants.
Trump promised that victims of illegal immigrant crime have not died in vain.
“All we can say, because the loss is beyond anything we can even think of, so all we can say is that they will not have died in vain because we won’t let it happen to others," Trump said.
The celebrity businessman, however, has stuck to his vow to build a wall to fortify the nation's southern border with Mexico and to deport immigrants here illegally who have committed criminal and violent acts.
"On trade, they’re absolutely killing us, they’re killing us," Trump told Hannity. "They’re killing us at the border, they’re killing us on trade; we have a trade deficit with Mexico of close to 60 billion dollars a year. So, right there you can build a wall because the wall’s a fraction of that."
At a rally in Austin later Tuesday, Trump made no mention of his possible shift on deportations, instead repeating his vow to build a wall to fortify the nation's southern border with Mexico and to eject immigrants here illegally who have committed criminal and violent acts.
Trump at several recent rallies has urged African-American voters to support him, pledging that his public safety and economic policies will improve their quality of life while suggesting that Democrats had taken them for granted.
And aides said Tuesday that in the coming weeks Trump was planning trips to urban areas to conduct campaign stops he has largely avoided to this point, including stops at charter schools, small businesses and churches in black and Latino communities.
The Trump campaign's potential plans to visit inner cities were first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post.
#1: Hondo68 To: ConservingFreedom, Reconquista Republicans, NWO globalist stooges, *Border Invasion* (#0)
Run of the mill Globalist, America-last Reconquista Republican.
Hondo68 posted on 2016-08-24 16:14:35 Reply Private Reply
#2: Justified To: hondo68, ConservingFreedom (#1)
He said he was going to still build the wall, deport criminal illegals, deport alien over stayers. The rest will deport themselves when they can't find work or turn to crime which means being deported. Tell me someone else who can possible get elected that will do even 1/1000th that?
Justified posted on 2016-08-24 17:40:29 Reply Private Reply
#3: ConservingFreedom To: Justified (#2)
ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-08-24 17:47:10 Reply Private Reply
#4: Justified To: ConservingFreedom (#3)
They commit a crime and out they go with no ability of ever becoming a citizen.
The others are stuck in limbo.
Why spend billions on a process when a majority will leave in time.
If Clinton's are elected we know the GOP will be dead. Libertarians will get even smaller. Conservatives will get smaller. Illegal alien will be a racist term that can get you fired which probably will not matter because jobs will be near impossible to find after she wrecks what little economy there is.
Justified posted on 2016-08-24 18:45:37 Reply Private Reply
#5: rlk To: ConservingFreedom (#0)
Trump in showing serious signs of getting soft in his head. The last thing this country needs in to welcome an influx of primitive incompatibles to introduce a wave of confusion and disunity within the population.
rlk posted on 2016-08-24 20:14:44 Reply Private Reply
#6: paraclete To: rlk (#5)
This is where rhetoric gets you, the political process is one of compromise and Dump is realising this, he tried polarisng the nation and to an extent it worked but the raw voter numbers tell him he must be more inclusive or lose, so now he says he will enforce the law and all the laws he needs are in place. if he is elected he will have what BO didn't have, the support of a GOP congress
paraclete posted on 2016-08-24 21:54:41 Reply Private Reply
#7: TrappedInMd To: ConservingFreedom, hondo68 (#0)
During the primary he beat up the others by promising deportation of ALL illegals by a US 'deportation force' (said this on morning Joe).
Now having beat the others he decided its an un-electable position and says : "There could certainly be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people," Trump answered. "We want people -- we have some great people in this country"
Illegals are now GREAT PEOPLE??? During the primary he called them criminals and drug runners.
Here he praises Obama for his deportations: "We want to follow the laws, you know, we have very strong laws in this country. And I don’t know if you know but Bush, and even Obama, sends people back. Now, we can be more aggressive in that but we want to follow the laws," . "
Trump says he's open to 'softening' immigration laws in 'Hannity' town hall(FNC Aug 24, 2016 )
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-25 08:32:50 Reply Private Reply
#8: Stoner To: rlk (#5)
Robert, since the beginning, I have cautiously had high hopes. But at the same time, had suspicions that we are in for a big let down. But, what are we going to do? Let Shitlerly win, and go over the cliff at high speed, or go with Trump, and go over the cliff at low speed? Hell of a choice!
Stoner posted on 2016-08-25 09:10:07 Reply Private Reply
#9: Deckard To: Stoner (#8)
Deckard posted on 2016-08-25 10:21:21 Reply Private Reply
#10: Stoner To: Deckard (#9)
Stoner posted on 2016-08-25 11:10:30 Reply Private Reply
#11: rlk To: paraclete (#6)
The basic issue is that the people in this country have been subjucted to the most massive and effective total subversive public relations campaign in American history to believe they won't need to live with the consequences of of a nation that has been divided and fractured by primitives, or that there will be no consequences. There will be disasterous consequences. Public relation campaigns can effectively render people blind to obvious reality. This was conclusively proven experimentally 60+ years ago.
rlk posted on 2016-08-25 14:43:15 Reply Private Reply
#12: rlk To: All, stoner, paraclete (#11)
rlk posted on 2016-08-25 15:34:29 Reply Private Reply
#13: TrappedInMd To: rlk, ConservingFreedom, Deckard, (#12)
Its very simple.
Trump decided he needed to lie and promise he would deport every single one of them (a ~ 11 million) to get him the nomination, and it looks like he was right there.
Now he decided its necessary to refute or take back that promise, to get elected.
Anyone caught by surprise by this needs someone else to make their decisions for them.
I notice over at Trump-Republic(ie FR) home of the brain-dead, Trump's most recent comments are not even being posted. They are all saying that nothing has changed.
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-25 15:54:54 Reply Private Reply
#14: ConservingFreedom To: TrappedInMd (#13)
This article was posted there, and Jim pulled it as "garbage propaganda": webcache.googleuserconten...&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-08-25 17:51:10 Reply Private Reply
#15: ConservingFreedom To: All (#14)
ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-08-25 19:09:43 Reply Private Reply
#16: TrappedInMd To: ConservingFreedom, rlk, Deckard, *free republic and JR watch* (#15)
FR pulled thread : "Trump says he's open to 'softening' immigration laws in 'Hannity' town hall" at link we get "Thread pulled: garbage"
HAHA, great catch. Really great ! I plan on doing a series here on Trump- Republic after the election.(with gems like this I may not be able to wait)
The money quote on Hannity I havent posted here yet, but I saw on cable video again today, is where Trump tells Hannity that 'the good ones will have to pay back taxes'.
Anyone agreeing with that on FR even six months ago would be zotted. Now JR deletes threads quoting Trump (on Hannity yet) that completely contradict why JR told us to support Trump as nominee.
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-25 22:06:52 Reply Private Reply
#17: TrappedInMd To: ConservingFreedom (#15)
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-25 22:19:01 Reply Private Reply
#18: A K A Stone To: TrappedInMd (#16)
A K A Stone posted on 2016-08-25 22:35:07 Reply Private Reply
#19: A K A Stone To: TrappedInMd (#16)
A K A Stone posted on 2016-08-25 22:43:58 Reply Private Reply
#20: rlk To: Stoner (#8)
As University of Maryland’s James Gimpel noted: “the enormous flow of legal immigrants into the country — 29.5 million 1980 to 2012 — has remade and continues to remake the nation’s electorate in favor of the Democratic Party.”
This 29.5 million, primarily since 1990, indicates how broken our immigration system supposedly is because it doesn’t let in enough people. That’s 29.5 million that we even admit knowing about. (When and how did they become legal?) How many other millions that are illegal and haven’t been, and won’t be, counted is anybody’s guess.
Since 1960 I have watched the strength of this once great nation being attacked and nibbled away piece by piece from a multitude of directions until it is on the verge of collapse. Much of it has centered on a long term degradation, disenfranchisement and subjugation of the white race. Now Trump glamorizes the invasion by a probable 50,000,000 people represents wonderful people. Hillary will be jubulent to hear Trump supporting her campaign.
Always remember, the invasion across our Southern border to leach off the anglos is the only way Mexicans and others can find prosperity and opportunity. In thousands of years, they've done nothing to improve the countries from which they came.
Hillary, and now Trump, represent displacement of the European anglo from the massive civilization he built from nothing but deserts, woods, and plains. The rejection of that displament is labeled racism.
rlk posted on 2016-08-26 01:52:44 Reply Private Reply
#21: Stoner To: rlk (#20)
I picture in the near future, the entire USA being transformed to look like scenes from "Escape from New York" or "Escape from LA". Very unpleasant thought for sure. But I see it coming to that. I just hope that most of the CFR, etc get hung. They won't of course, but they sure deserve it!
Stoner posted on 2016-08-26 08:01:42 Reply Private Reply
#22: ConservingFreedom To: TrappedInMd (#16)
Thanks!
I'll read it with great interest.
ConservingFreedom posted on 2016-08-26 10:53:05 Reply Private Reply
#23: TrappedInMd To: A K A Stone, ConservingFreedom (#18)
The comment you replied to #16 didn't have me saying he did.
He did say on that Hannity interview that illegals, 'the good ones', would have to pay back taxes to stay here.
Then the next day getting blowback, said they would all have to go again.
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-29 08:31:50 Reply Private Reply
#24: A K A Stone To: TrappedInMd (#23)
A K A Stone posted on 2016-08-29 10:01:48 Reply Private Reply
#25: TrappedInMd To: A K A Stone (#19)
That doesn't even make any sense.
Besides, amnesty Don IS a liberal.
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-29 14:19:46 Reply Private Reply