Deportation policy cost Republicans midterms, Trump admits
The president conceded his enforcement strategy was excessive to CBS, yet his administration moved to keep the most aggressive architect of that policy in charge.
By Alina Carter ·
Donald Trump acknowledged on Sunday that his administration’s deportation strategy was overly aggressive, a concession that follows the Republican loss of control in both chambers of Congress. The admission came in an interview with 60 Minutes, marking his first major televised appearance since the midterm elections held on November 3, 2026.
The shift in the White House narrative offers a clear takeaway for voters who felt the weight of recent enforcement actions. Trump told CBS correspondent Ross Douthat that the strategy may have hurt the party’s electoral standing. "I think it was too hard. I think it was maybe too hard, yeah," Trump said, referring to the removal of migrants who had lived in the United States for years.
The president defended the overall results of the border security push, which was a central promise of his second term. He noted that the administration removed individuals with stable jobs who had only entered the country without authorization. Trump recognized that some voters viewed these workers as deserving to stay because they paid taxes and maintained employment.
The political cost of these raids was evident in the November 3 results. Democrats regained majorities in the House and Senate. This outcome was particularly stark in regions with large Latino voting populations, many of whom had supported Trump’s presidential bid in 2024. A CBS News exit poll cited in the interview indicated that 58% of voters believed the administration’s migration actions went too far.
Despite the president’s verbal concession, the administration’s subsequent actions suggested a commitment to the same enforcement level. On November 6, Trump appointed Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Miller was a key architect of the mass deportation policy and had pushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reach a daily arrest target of 3,000 during 2025.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin reinforced this continuity on social media. "Deportations will continue," Mullin wrote, according to reports from EFE and The Washington Post. White House press secretary Lauren Bis stated that the government would maintain efforts to stop and deport undocumented migrants considered a threat to public safety. Federal officials told CBS that they had not planned an immediate reduction in operations following Miller’s promotion.
Trump indicated a willingness to negotiate migration issues with the new Democratic leadership in Congress, which takes over in January 2027. However, he did not announce any specific changes to current detention or expulsion procedures. The administration’s approach remains focused on enforcement, even as the president recognizes the political friction generated by the strategy.
