He loves me, he loves me not. President Barack Obama’s immigration policy Saturday was the subject of scorn and praise from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“President Obama has mass deported vast numbers of people — the most ever, and it’s never reported. I think people are going to find that I have not only the best policies, but I will have the biggest heart of anybody,” Trump said to Bloomberg in an interview. Obama has in fact deported more illegal immigrants than any of his predecessors, but the President also has a stated policy of protecting many groups of aliens from removal.
Trump seemed to acknowledge this, tweeting out after the story came out, “Obama has blocked ICE officers and BP from doing their jobs. That ends when I am President!”
When asked by Bloomberg whether he would have “mass deportations,” Trump said, “No, I would not call it mass deportations.” This led to articles such as one from The Hill titled, “Trump shifts immigration plan: No ‘mass deportations.'”
“I have never liked the media term ‘mass deportation’ — but we must enforce the laws of the land!” Trump tweeted out late Saturday. (RELATED: Obama: SCOTUS Ruling Doesn’t Change My ‘Priorities’ – I’m Still Not Deporting Most Illegals)
Trump has had ever-shifting views on immigration so far this election cycle. It wasn’t until a July CNN interview that Trump embraced deporting all 11 million or so illegal immigrants currently in the United States.
In Trump’s immigration plan available on his website there is no mention of mass deportation, only of the removal of “criminal aliens.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures at a news conference near the U.S.- Mexico border outside of Laredo, Texas July 23, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
President Barack Obama speaks before signing H.R. 2576 (Getty Images)
Immigrants who have been caught crossing the border illegally are housed inside the McAllen Border Patrol Station in McAllen, Texas, in this file photo taken July 15, 2014. REUTERS/ Rick Loomis/Pool/Files
He went on to say, “We are going to get rid of a lot of bad dudes who are here. That I can tell you.” Trump in July said, “We’ve got to get the bad ones out. We have some really bad dudes in this country.”