Trump Floats Immigration Talks With Democrats, and The Federalist Objects

President Donald Trump, in a weekend television interview, said his immigration enforcement may have been "too tough" and named immigration as an issue where he would work with Democrats, according to The Federalist. The interview came after the midterm elections, in which the outlet says Republicans suffered massive losses.

That matters because immigration enforcement is the policy The Federalist calls the administration's "one successful policy thus far." That is the outlet's opinion, but it explains why any talk of softening the line draws attention.

A caution up front: the account rests on a single outlet. We have not reviewed a transcript or broadcast of the interview, and the details below should be read as reported, not confirmed.

What Trump Reportedly Said

According to The Federalist, the interview was conducted over the weekend by Ross Douthat and aired on 60 Minutes. The outlet describes Douthat as the program's host; that detail, like the rest of the exchange, has not been checked against the broadcast. Asked whether there were any issues on which he would work with Democrats after the midterms, Trump answered "immigration."

The Federalist said Trump's concern centered on enforcement against people who entered the country illegally but have committed no other serious crimes. In a companion piece, the same outlet reported that Trump said some illegal immigrants who have been in the country for 10 to 15 years may have a "deal" to stay. The wording of that remark has not been checked against the full interview, and it should not be treated as policy.

We have not yet checked whether the White House has responded or issued a statement on such a deal. For now, based on what has been reported, it is a remark, not a plan.

The Case That It's the Wrong Lesson

The Federalist's argument, made in an opinion piece, is that Trump drew the wrong conclusion from the losses. In its telling, the Iran War, which it calls a failure, was a major factor in the Republican defeat, while immigration enforcement was the administration's one real success. Those are the outlet's judgments, not settled findings, and the figures for the Republican losses were not detailed in the material available for this story.

To back its point, the outlet cites a poll in which voters preferred Republicans to Democrats on immigration, 44 percent to 41 percent. The pollster, the dates and the sample were not identified in what could be reviewed, so the figure should be weighed with that in mind.

The sharper charge is about promises. The Federalist argues that a deal giving legal status or a path to citizenship to long-present immigrants would amount to amnesty, which it says Trump promised not to pursue. "Amnesty" is the outlet's label, not Trump's wording. The outlet also says Trump is not on track to achieve such a deal, and any deal at this point is hypothetical.

The Washington Post Headline

The Washington Post ran an analysis under the headline "Trump learned a lesson on immigration. Then he did the opposite." We have not read that analysis, and we do not know whether it concerns these remarks, so its argument cannot be characterized beyond the headline.

Whether Trump actually plans to change course on immigration is unconfirmed. Everything so far comes from one outlet's account of one interview.

What Comes Next

The first test is simple: whether the full interview matches the reported quotes, and whether the White House follows the remarks with anything concrete. The transcript or broadcast of the 60 Minutes interview, and any White House response, would settle much of what is open here. Until the president or his staff says more, the talk of a deal remains just that.