In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes correspondent Ross Douthat, broadcast on November 8, Trump acknowledged that his aggressive deportation campaign had become a political liability following the Republican Party’s poor performance in the November 3 midterm elections.
The proposed shift comes against the backdrop of a sweeping deportation campaign launched after Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025.
Asked whether the policy had gone too far, he responded: “I think it was too tough.”
According to the Guardian, the president said he was open to reaching an arrangement with Democrats that would allow some undocumented immigrants to stay, particularly those who had lived in the US for years, held jobs and contributed to the economy.
What Trump is offering
Trump suggested that immigrants who have lived in the US for 10 to 15 years could be considered for an agreement, particularly those working in industries such as landscaping, hotels and hospitality.
He argued that people with established employment and, in some cases, tax records should be treated differently from those convicted of serious crimes.
“Let the people that are here, and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years, work a deal for them,” he said, describing the proposal as “something that’s actually doable”.
No formal agreement, eligibility criteria or legal pathway has been announced. The proposal would require negotiations with Democrats, and Trump said he believed a compromise was possible.
The scale of Trump’s deportation campaign
A particularly controversial part of the campaign has involved third-country deportations, in which migrants are sent to countries other than their countries of citizenship.
According to ICE data analysed by Human Rights Watch, 27,943 people were transferred to more than 50 such countries between January 20, 2025, and August 5, 2026.
Africa received 536 of those migrants, including transfers to Ghana, Eswatini, South Sudan, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about arbitrary detention, inadequate legal protections and the risk of migrants being returned to countries where they could face persecution or torture. The organisation has called for the suspension of the transfers.
Trump’s latest remarks therefore introduce a possible negotiated route for some long-term immigrants while his administration’s wider deportation machinery remains in place.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com
