Immigration · Report · File No. 261109-145
Trump tells CBS his deportation policy 'might be too tough' after midterm losses
In a 60 Minutes interview, the president said the crackdown 'both helped and hurt' him. Days earlier he put Stephen Miller, the policy's architect, in charge of his White House staff.
Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work
President Trump said his mass deportation policy may have gone too far. He made the remark in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday, Nov. 8, three days after Republicans took heavy losses in the midterm elections 13.
Correspondent Ross Douthat asked whether the policy "went too far." Trump answered "Too tough," then said it "might be too tough, yeah" 2.
I think it might be too tough, yeah.
'Both helped and hurt'
Trump said the crackdown "both helped and hurt" him with voters 12. He said he deserved an A+ for closing the border and very high marks for removing the bad ones 12.
The trouble, he said, came from removing people with jobs whose only violation was entering the country illegally. He said many people want those workers to stay, including some who pay taxes 1.
From Channel GOPTrump's 'find 11,780 votes' call played at hearingDonald Trump · 306 plays · captioned, with the source named
He also said some people have been here "for ten and 15 years" and that a deal should be worked out for them 2. Asked what he would like to work on with a Democratic majority, he said he would love to "do something on immigration" 2.
I'd love to do something on immigration.
Voters had already weighed in
CBS reported that Republican support fell in South Texas and other heavily Latino areas that had moved toward the party two years ago. Many voters tied that in part to the crackdown, CBS said 1.
In exit polls, 58% said the administration's immigration actions have gone too far. Voters were nearly split on which party they trust more on immigration, with 43% favoring Republicans and 41% favoring Democrats 1.
Miller's promotion
The remark sits awkwardly beside a personnel move. On Friday, Nov. 6, Trump replaced chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, the hardliner widely seen as an architect of the administration's immigration policies 1.
CBS described that move as one that "seems to conflict with" Trump's stated wish to work with Democrats on immigration 2. CBS also said it is unclear whether the administration will change its enforcement strategy 1.
The French news agency AFP called Miller's appointment a signal of a "bare-knuckle fightback" after the election loss. AFP also said Miller backed federal agents who shot and killed two Americans earlier this year 3.
Miller pushed ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to aim for 3,000 arrests a day last year, CBS reported. The administration says its priority is arresting the "worst first," but it warns that anyone in the country illegally can be deported 1.
What happens next
Democrats will control the House and Senate starting next year, which gives them new powers over budgets, hearings and subpoenas 12. Trump said people had already called him about working together 2.
The pattern is a president who admits a policy cost him votes while promoting the man who built it. Words are not policy, and no change in ICE orders has been announced in the reports we reviewed. That matters for families who have lived here for a decade or more, and for the older relatives who depend on them.
The CBS pages we reviewed carried no on-the-record response from a Democrat to the remark. We will update this story if one comes.
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Sources
- CBS News, “Trump says his deportation policy might have been "too tough" in 60 Minutes interview” (2026-11-08). cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-some-of-his-immigration-policies
- CBS News, “60 Minutes Transcript: Donald Trump, the 2026 post-midterm elections interview” (2026-11-08). cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-2026-post-midterm-elections-in
- AFP via Free Malaysia Today, “Trump says deportation policy was 'too tough' in CBS interview” (2026-11-09). freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/11/09/trump-says-d
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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