Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Univision and Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos battled over illegal immigration at Trump’s press conference in Iowa on Tuesday.
Trump said that it was “good” to have Ramos back. Ramos thanked him for saying that before stating Trump’s immigration plan is “full empty promises.” He further objected, “You cannot deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. You cannot deny citizenship to the children in this country. You cannot build on –” Trump then cut in, “Why do you say that?” Ramos objected, “You cannot do that.” After some crosstalk, Trump said, “a lot of people think that’s not right, that an act of Congress can do it. Now, it’s possibly going to be have to be tested in courts, but a lot of people think that if you come, and you’re on the other side of the border, I’m not talking about Mexico, somebody on the other side of the border, a woman is getting ready to have a baby, she crosses the border for one day, and has the baby, all of a sudden, for the next 80 years, hopefully longer, but for the next 80 years, we have to take care of the people. … I don’t think so.” Ramos objected, but Trump continued, “Excuse me, some of the greatest legal scholars, and I know some of the television scholars agree with you, but some of the great legal scholars agree that that’s not true. That if you come across — excuse me. Yeah, just one second.”
Ramos objected that Trump wasn’t answering, Trump maintained he was, before continuing, “If you come across for one day, one day, and you have a baby, now the baby is going to be an American citizen. There are great — excuse me, there are great legal scholars, the top, that say that’s absolutely wrong. It’s going to be tested.”
After Ramos asked how Trump planned on building a wall on the border with Mexico, Trump said it would be easy because “I’m a builder. That’s easy.” And that building a 95-story building is “more complicated” than a fence.
Ramos then countered that over 40% of illegal immigrants overstay their visas and the wall would be a waste of time and money. Trump said, “I don’t believe that.” And countered that drug smuggling primarily comes over the border
When asked how he would deport 11 million people, and whether he was “going to bring the Army,” Trump stated, “We’re going to do it in a very humane fashion. Believe me, I have a bigger heart than you do.”
He continued, “The one thing we’re going to start with, immediately, are the gangs, and the real bad ones, and you do agree there are bad ones. Do you agree with that or do you think everyone’s just perfect?” After an exchange over whether Ramos agreed with this, Trump continued, “Listen, we have tremendous crime, we have tremendously — we have some very bad ones, and I think you would agree with that, right? There are a lot of bad ones, real bad ones, because they looked at some of the gangs, excuse me. They looked at some of the gangs in Baltimore. They looked at some of the gangs in Chicago, they looked even Ferguson. They got some rough illegal immigrants in those gangs. They’re getting out. Do you mind if I send them out? Now, if they come from Mexico, do you mind if I send them back to Mexico?” Trump continued to press if Ramos on this point, Ramos agreed that he would have no problem with sending back criminals. Trump then stated, “Those people are out. They’re going to be out so fast your head will spin, all right? The rest we’re going to do, and remember you use the word ‘illegal immigrant.'” After Ramos objected that he didn’t Trump answered, “You should use it, because that’s what the definition is.” Ramos protested, “No human being is illegal.”
Trump responded, “when they cross the boarder from a legal standpoint, they are illegal — when they don’t have their papers. And I want to make it possible, and I think you’ll like this. This is the part you’re going to like. I want these people, the good people, I want them to come back. And I want them to get documentation and — so they become legal. It’s going to be — you know what it’s called? Management. See, you’re not used to good management because you — you’re always talking about government. Let me just tell you, wait, wait, wait, wait, government is incompetent. Guys like Bush, and some others that I won’t name, they’re incompetent people. They don’t have it. They don’t have it. I agree they can’t do it, but I’m a great manager. I know how to manage things. I hire unbelievable people. When I look at the vets, when I look at the VA, excuse me, when I look at the VA, we spend billions of dollars, and people are treated horribly, okay? Horribly. That’ll work great. What we’re doing here will look great, and we want get good people back in, and also, let me just tell you –.”
Ramos then cut in that Trump wasn’t giving specifics, Trump answered, “I’ve given you specifics. I’ve given you — great management, and they’re hopefully going to come back in very soon.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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