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Archive photo · 2 June 2025Trump Tells 60 Minutes Immigration Crackdown Was “Too Tough” After Midterm Losses
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Trump said deportation policy was 'too tough' and contributed to GOP midterm losses. Immigration crackdown may have been too tough and hurt Republicans politically.
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11 outlets in this story. Read their headlines below.
Trump concedes too tough
President Donald Trump told CBS’ 60 Minutes that his immigration crackdown was "too tough," saying he believed he deserved an "A plus" for limiting illegal border crossings but that he was politically "hurt" by sweeping deportations. Trump said, "I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally," and he added, "I think it was too tough," in the interview. A White House spokeswoman vowed "the administration will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorise our communities," while a DHS spokesperson said, "ICE is NOT backing away or slowing down."
JD Vance wrote in an online post that he was "open to the idea that we should change enforcement - by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance," after Tuesday’s midterm losses. Election-day polling indicated immigration was the third most important issue for midterm voters, after the economy and the state of democracy.
Midterms, raids, and deaths
Trump told 60 Minutes that immigration "both helped and hurt" his fellow Republicans in Tuesday’s midterms, saying he got "very high marks for getting the bad ones out" but that deportations also took people with "good jobs."
Trump said mass deportations hurt him during the midterm elections and that he wanted to work with Democrats, including by creating legal status for undocumented workers.
Enforcement sweeps this year spurred anti-ICE demonstrations in cities including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and in Minneapolis two US protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents.
ICE sources said officials were instructed to aim for about 2,700 arrests of illegal immigrants per day, an increase from an earlier 2,000 daily arrest target.
Sen. Thom Tillis said Trump "needs to rethink" Stephen Miller’s appointment as chief of staff, calling it "a colossal mistake" in the days after the GOP’s losses.
What Trump says comes next
Trump told 60 Minutes he would "love to do something on immigration" with congressional Democrats, and he said he was open to a deal that would allow some undocumented immigrants to remain. Trump said he was open to an arrangement to allow some undocumented immigrants to remain in the US, while he also defended his policy as something that "both helped and hurt" and said he got an "A+ for closing up the border." Trump said making a deal on immigration with Democrats was "actually doable," and he said, "I think it both helped and hurt."
Trump wanted to work with Democrats on immigration reform while he elevated Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff, and the BBC reported that the DHS department showed no sign of a U-turn. In Minneapolis, two US protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents, underscoring the enforcement pressure Trump said he had to recalibrate after the midterms.