Trump Concedes His Immigration Policy May Have Been ‘Too Tough’

President Donald Trump conceded in a new interview that his administration’s immigration enforcement efforts might have been “too tough.”

Trump told CBS News that he thought his immigration crackdown was popular with some voters, but not others. In general, he said that closing the border was popular and that people supported his efforts to get “the bad ones out.”

“But I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally,” Trump told the outlet. “Now, there is a large part of the country that think that they should be put out. And there’s a large part of the country that think that they should be allowed to stay if they’re good people working in a landscaping company, or working in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases, paying taxes.”

“I think it was too tough,” the president concluded.

The administration has long asserted that its immigration policy targets the “worst of the worst.” But data regarding who is detained tells a much different story.

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) data show that the vast majority of those being held have no criminal convictions. According to TRAC, as of July 2026, out of 65,765 people being held in ICE detention, 70.6 percent had no criminal conviction. Of those who did have a criminal conviction, many were for minor violations, such as traffic offenses.

The administration faced public backlash over its enforcement efforts following several high-profile incidents at the beginning of this year.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot during an altercation with federal immigration officers on January 7. Good attempted to drive away after being confronted by officers. As she did so, an officer opened fire, killing her.

A couple of weeks later, on January 24, Alex Pretti, 37, was shot by immigration officers during a protest. Pretti was on the ground with multiple officers restraining him when one of the officers drew their weapon and shot him in the back. Pretti was legally carrying a gun, but he did not draw the weapon, and footage appeared to show he had been disarmed before being shot, ABC News noted.

After those incidents, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, who had largely been the face of the immigration enforcement efforts, retired. In March, President Trump fired Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, replacing her with Markwayne Mullin.

There have also been several reports regarding the treatment of detainees and the number of detainees who have died in custody.

According to Reuters, from 2009 through 2024, the death rate was 1 for every 3,848 detainees annually. As of June, that figure had accelerated to one death for every 1,630 detainees since Trump took office.

A Government Accountability Office report found mismanagement, poor conditions, and wasteful spending at Camp East Montana. It also classified one asphyxia death as a homicide. According to the GAO, information and evidence associated with the case were missing.

“However, the contractor did not provide use of force and death reports to ICE, as required. In addition, evidence associated with the incident was missing or destroyed,” the GAO report found.

In July, Mexico announced that it planned to take legal action against the United States regarding the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens that occurred while they were being held in detention.

“We’re going to do everything we can in our power,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a press conference at the time. “What we can’t do is neglect the Mexicans who have died in ICE operations or who were detained in detention centers…that’s why we’re pressing for more action.”

Despite President Trump’s comments that his administration’s immigration enforcement might have gone too far, one of his first decisions after the midterm elections was to promote adviser Stephen Miller to chief of staff. Miller has generally been seen as the architect of the administration’s immigration policy.