Donald Trump‘s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is not certain that her boss will move forward with an immigrant deportation force if he becomes the leader of this nation.
During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union, which aired on Sunday, the new face of the Trump team shared that the candidate’s position on the matter is “to be determined.”
The Republican nominee for president launched his campaign in June 2015 with the premise that he would build a wall on the southern border and Mexico will have to pay for it. Trump has often accused his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton of being soft on immigration and promised to deport the 11 million people living in this country illegally.
This message helped Mr. Trump win the primary race. However, after a meeting with Hispanic leaders in New York this week, reports suggested that the candidate is now open to allowing some undocumented immigrants to remain in the country. Conway pushed back against the appearance of reversal coming from Trump, she said:
“So what Donald Trump said yesterday in that meeting … varied little from what he has said publicly. What he supports is to make sure we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for jobs, and that we are fair and humane to those who live among us.”
It is not clear what this new language means in terms of policy. A Trump supporter, Jose Fuentes, who was at the meeting, sees things differently. Mr. Fuentes told CNN:
“He wanted to hear our ideas on how to deal with it. He requested that we put it in writing. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to take them or that he’s changed his mind.”
Interestingly enough, Conway supported comprehensive immigration reform in 2014 and at the time she urged members of her party to do the same. When recently asked about her past support for CIR, she said that she is not running for office and is only focusing on pushing Trump’s plans for the country.
Some experts believe that Trump is just trying to appeal moderate voters while not alienating his base with a small tweak in tone. Will this be enough to win the election in November?
