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Trump Campaign Manager: 'To Be Determined' Whether Immigration Plan Will Include 'Deportation Force'

August 21, 2016

Newly minted Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on CNN it was still "to be determined" whether Trump's immigration policy would include a "deportation force" that he'd spoken about earlier in the campaign.

Univision reported Saturday that Trump will soon announce a plan to legalize some illegal immigrants in the United States, a far cry from his prior rhetoric about deporting all of the approximately 11 million people illegally living in the country:

Trump told the group of conservative Hispanic leaders he would announce a plan to grant legal status "that wouldn't be citizenship but would allow them to be here without fear of deportation," said Monty.

The campaign has so far not provided details of the plan, and Trump spokesman Steven Cheung, said in a statement that Trump's position remains unchanged on immigration.

In November, however, he echoed a host's use of the term "deportation force" as to what he would employ to bring about that policy:

Trump, who has frequently promised a giant "wall" between the U.S. and Mexico that the latter would pay for, was explaining a sect of his immigration stance when MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski asked him how exactly he would deport the millions of illegal immigrants living in the country.

"Are you going to have a massive deportation force?" she asked.

"You’re going to have a deportation force, and you’re going to do it humanely and you’re going to bring the country–and frankly, the people, because you have some excellent, wonderful people, some fantastic people that have been here for a long period of time," Trump said.

"So does Donald Trump still support that? A deportation force removing the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants," State of the Union host Dana Bash said.

"What he supports is to make sure that we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for well-paying jobs, and that we are fair and humane for those who live among us in this country, and as the weeks unfold, he will lay out the specifics of that plan that he will implement as President of the United States," Conway said.

Bash repeated whether that plan would involve a deportation force.

"To be determined," Conway said.