In a phone interview with NBC News after winning the presidency, Trump said there is “no price tag” for the deportations en masse he hopes to accomplish as president. During his campaign, Trump pledged to carry out the largest deportations in history, and illegal immigration was a dominating issue of his campaign.
“It’s not a question of a price tag. It’s not — really, we have no choice,” he told the network. “When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.”
Trump, in the NBC interview, also credited Latinos for his decisive victory. Exit polls show Latinos had a significant swing toward Trump from the 2020 election.
“They want to have borders, and they like people coming in, but they have to come in with love for the country,” Trump told the network. “They have to come in legally.”
Experts have told CBS News Trump’s plan for mass deportations would cost billions of dollars. There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, roughly 3% of the U.S. population.
Trump also told NBC about the calls he had with Harris and Mr. Biden since Tuesday’s victory.
“Very nice calls, very respectful both ways,” Trump said, describing the conversations, adding that he and Harris talked about the transition.
Both Mr. Biden and Harris have pledged a peaceful transition of power.