Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that he would allow exceptions to let some undocumented immigrants to stay in the US, vowing he wouldn't grant them citizenship but telling Fox News, "there's no amnesty, but we work with them."
For Trump, whose rise to the Republican nomination was based in large part on his hardline immigration policies, the comments are the clearest sign yet that he is reconsidering his pledge to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, a key part of his campaign platform.
"No citizenship. Let me go a step further -- they'll pay back-taxes, they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty, as such, there's no amnesty, but we work with them," Trump told Sean Hannity when asked if he would allow for exceptions to his long-held position.
He continued: "Now, everybody agrees we get the bad ones out. But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject -- and I've had very strong people come up to me, really great, great people come up to me -- and they've said, 'Mr. Trump, I love you, but to take a person who's been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and their family out, it's so tough, Mr. Trump,' I have it all the time. It's a very, very hard thing."
At the same event, Trump also indicated an openness to "softening" his immigration policies, which also includes building a wall on the border with Mexico.
Trump all week has made rumblings about a position change, and he had previously planned to deliver an immigration speech this week in Colorado. But the address was postponed as he and his advisers indicated that his positions on key tenants of immigration policy were not settled.
Wednesday night, a Trump campaign source confirmed the real estate mogul will outline his immigration policies in a speech next Wednesday in Phoenix.
At a campaign rally in Jackson, Mississippi, Wednesday night, Trump insisted any immigration policy pass three broad tests: It must improve jobs and wages for US citizens; must improve citizens' safety and security; and improve citizens' quality of life.
"Hillary Clinton only talks about the separation of families who chose to come here illegally," Trump said. "I want to focus on the American families who've been permanently separated from their children because of the sanctuary cities and open borders that Hillary Clinton supports."
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