President Donald Trump said he struggles with finding the right balance on immigration enforcement in a rare admission Wednesday.
Speaking to a largely Latino audience at the White House’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Trump touted his administration’s hard-line deportation agenda, but said that the job weighs on him.
“Frankly, it’s the hardest job I’ve had. The hardest job, because they’ll say you’re too tough or you’re too soft. Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do, it’s always tough,” he told the audience.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests hit record highs last month as the administration continues to escalate its aggressive enforcement policies, which include mass deportations, family separations at the border and sweeping restrictions on both legal asylum processes and refugee admissions.
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Trump’s approval ratings among Hispanics have also dropped in the two years since he won a second term with new levels of support among Latino voters.
Trump has seldom budged on his alarmist rhetoric against immigration from Latin American countries. After ICE agents shot two American citizens in Minneapolis during the administration’s Operation Metro Surge immigration crackdown, he showed some vulnerability.
“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump told NBC News in February.
Trump directed the withdrawal of 700 immigration agents from Minnesota following those incidents and the resulting political unrest.
The president’s statements Wednesday echoed that change — but didn’t last long. He soon pivoted to his longtime claims that foreign countries are emptying prisons and mental institutions into the United States.
He also returned to another recurring midterms pitch, telling the audience to “believe” he’s also on the ballot: “We lose 40% when I don’t run.”
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