New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended Donald Trump's statements on immigration and deportation, insisting that the Republican presidential nominee has been consistent in his messaging despite rhetoric that suggests a waffling on his hardline stance.
Christie, who chairs Trump's transition team, told Martha Raddatz on ABC's "This Week" that Trump has been "very clear" throughout the campaign that, "We're not going to have amnesty. What we're going to do is to get those who are breaking the law out of the country as quickly as possible to make sure then that you deal with people in a humane way...He's been saying that I think for as long as I've been listening to him of late, and that's what he's going to do."
Trump has long promised to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in America and has pledged to halt immigration from countries dealing with Islamist terror attacks, after previously stating that he would temporarily bar all Muslims from coming to the United States. However, after a campaign shakeup this month, Trump's new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said a mass deportation effort is "to be determined" after reports surfaced about Trump's softer rhetoric with a meeting of his Hispanic advisors group. The candidate himself added to the confusion this week, telling Fox News "there certainly could be a softening, because we're not looking to hurt people," before telling CNN the next day that he doesn't "think it's a softening...you know it's a process. You can't take 11 at one time and just say, boom, you're gone."
Trump expanded on the latest iteration of his policy in Iowa Saturday, suggesting deportation would be reserved for criminal elements while vowing to crack down on visas and entitlements. "On day one, I'm going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal immigrants from this country...We're going to build a great wall on the border, and we're going to institute nationwide e-verify, stop illegal immigrants from accessing welfare and entitlements and develop an exit-entry system to ensure those that overstay their visas, that they're quickly removed."
Christie, who also sought the GOP nomination for president, added to the confusion Sunday by suggesting that while criminal members of the undocumented population would be deported, others would have to self-deport if they wanted a path toward staying in the U.S. legally. "I think what he has said is that people are not going to be eligible for legalization or citizenship unless they leave the country and get back in line. Now there's going to be, you know, some decisions he's going to have to make as president regarding those folks, and I think what he's said let's first get all of the bad actors out of the country...And then he wants to look at this situation and deal with it in a humane way, and quite frankly, you know, I think this is the kind of thing people expect from a president of the United States."
The New Jersey governor deflected Raddatz, who tried to get him to acknowledge "that does sound like a softening from his original statements about getting everyone, 11 million undocumented workers, out of the country."
"This is a guy who has been very consistent on no amnesty, no legalization, for folks who have been coming to the country illegally. And that has always been the underpinning of his policy along with the building of the wall on the United States-Mexican border. And those things have remained completely consistent," Christie said.
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