Trump Defends ICE Raids in CBS Interview, Says ‘They Haven’t Gone Far Enough’
“We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be that ‘you came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out.”
President Donald Trump used his first 60 Minutes interview in five years to defend his administration’s aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, declaring that “they haven’t gone far enough.” The interview, which aired Sunday on CBS News, marked Trump’s first sit-down with the network since suing and later settling with CBS parent company Paramount over a 2024 segment involving then–Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” Trump told 60 Minutes anchor Norah O’Donnell. He added that he was “OK with the tactics being used by ICE” because “you have to get the people out.”
Watch the exchange here:
O’Donnell pressed Trump on controversial footage showing ICE agents using tear gas in a Chicago neighborhood, smashing car windows, and tackling suspects in front of their children. Trump dismissed the criticism and defended the operation, arguing that most deportees are violent criminals and dangerous offenders.
“You have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals,” Trump said. “We’re doing that. That’s what we’re doing.”
When asked whether his administration intends to deport non-violent individuals such as “landscapers, nannies, and construction workers,” Trump said the guiding principle remains the same: those who enter illegally will be deported, but with an opportunity to re-enter through legal channels.
“We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be that ‘you came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out,” Trump said. “However, you’ve also seen, ‘You’re going to go out. We’re going to work with you, and you’re going to come back into our country legally.’”
Since returning to office, Trump has expanded ICE operations nationwide, deploying masked federal agents into “sanctuary cities” such as Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. Local officials have sharply criticized the move. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have both condemned the tactics, while San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called them counterproductive.
“In cities across the country, masked immigration officials are deployed to use aggressive enforcement tactics that instill fear, so people don’t feel safe going about their daily lives,” Lurie said in a nine-minute video statement.
The wide-ranging 60 Minutes interview also touched on topics such as the ongoing government shutdown, relations with China and Venezuela, and Trump’s thoughts on the 2028 presidential race.
UPDATE:
60 Minutes released more footage from the interview in which President Trump was asked directly about if he was winning the immigration battle.
Watch here:
CBS: "When will you declare mission accomplished on immigration?"@POTUS: "Well, it takes a long time because I say 25 million people were let into our country… We're cleaning up our cities." pic.twitter.com/iyVZOPW1Yg
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 3, 2025
Full transcript of the video:
NORAH O’DONNELL: When will you declare mission accomplished on immigration?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, it takes a long time, because, you know, probably I say 25 million people were let into our country. A lotta people say it was 10 million people. But whether it was ten or– I believe I’m much closer to the right number. Of the 25, many of them should not be here. Many of them.
But we’re– we’re cleaning up our cities. You know, I campaigned on crime, but I’ve done a much better job on crime than I thought. You know, the crime numbers are way down, even though we have a lot more people in our country that really shouldn’t be here. And many of them are stone-cold hard criminals.
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Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump BODIES 60 Minutes after she begs for his secret military plans if China were to invade Taiwan
CBS: Why not say what you’ll do?!
TRUMP: “I can’t give away my secrets! I’m not somebody that tells YOU everything because you’re asking me a question!”
“I’m not gonna be one of those guys who tells you exactly what’s gonna happen if something happens. The other side knows…”
Why do they keep doing this?
‘Spill your military plans to the whole world, Mr. President!’ 🙄
Perfect response from 47.
Like Amy Wax, raising her hand in a Glenn Loury talk deploring the high incarceration rate for black males, said that she thought that more black males ought to be in jail.
How many of those government officials are democrats?
What government officials?
The ones who say Biden let only 10 million in?
The ones who don’t want ICE in their undershorts?
The ones who are stone hard criminals and should be deported?
If folks are so concerned about illegal aliens being arrested in front of family members perhaps they should encourage them to surrender themselves into ICE custody voluntarily. All 25 ish million gotta go. Can’t take all at once, start with the worst criminal offenders but also taking those found collateral to the target. Significantly ramp up workplace enforcement operations. Parallel to that hit the funding by removing eligibility for any govt benefit other than ER care and any reimbursement to require hospital cooperation in collecting data. No more ‘welfare benefit’ eligibility of.any federal funded program for any household containing an illegal alien. Ruthless enforcement until folks figure out self deportation is the better option than starving b/c no one will hire them for fear of prosecution and no access to ‘welfare’. Make workplace immigration enforcement more feared by a business than an IRS audit conducted while undergoing a colonoscopy.
This^
Can’t take all at once:
1. Start with the worst criminal offenders.
2. Start with those easiest to get and remove the hard ones later.
3. Start with the ones who’ve been here the longest—first come, first served.
4. Start with _________________________________
A lot of the so called innocent illegals they get have a family member who is not so innocent. Tom Homan said when they started if they go to a house for a known criminal and there are 8 other people in the house, all here illegally, they will all go home. So like CommoChief said, if they don’t want their family picked up turn themselves in. ICE isn’t there looking for the kids.
The smartphone app Biden gave them has been repurposed, and an illegal can use it to arrange repatriation AND get some cash as well.
Delicious isn’t it 😂😂
Only those who self deport can apply for citizenship after a period of time. If the government has to deport you they cannot apply for citizenship no matter what. That’s the incentive to self deport.
It was brilliant bit of political and policy Judo to repurpose the App that creates a less severe, safer ‘way out’ for illegal aliens than risking discovery, arrest and deportation. One that, as others note, also provides the possibility of lawful entry in the future.
I agree.
They have to go out in enough force to arrest every single one of the so-called ‘protestors’ attacking them and blatantly breaking the law.
I have a very close friend, a brother in Christ, who, along with his wife, is a legal immigrant from Nigeria. Both are now naturalized U.S. citizens. They went through all the background checks, and it took years for them to be approved. They now have U.S. passports, and are legal naturalized citizens of this nation. I was privileged to be present at the ceremony where they were sworn in as legal citizens of the United States.
Unlike illegal immigrants, this couple receives NO benefits, NO housing, NO food stamps, NOTHING from this United States. It would have been better for them to come to this nation illegally. As illegals, they would have been provided a financial blessing; housing, food stamps, a free smart phone, government financial support, and more. But because they came in through the “front door”, they get NOTHING. While every illegal who slips in through the “back door”, gets all the rewards.
What the hell is happening? What the is wrong with this nation? Illegal immigrants — criminals, for they violated our laws to cross our borders without legal authorization — get benefits and financial assistance denied even to our veterans who have suffered in the service to our nation. And certain cities proclaim sanctuary protection for these criminals in defiance of federal law. Some would say this is sedition. A position with which I agree.
Is this who we are? How can this be? This country has lost its way — our purpose for being. I served in Vietnam for 26 months, and I am ashamed of what the nation has become. This is wrong on so many levels and the true shame is that 50 percent of this country doesn’t see any problem with the status quo. They would happily invite another 10, 20, 30 million to enter this country illegally and violate our laws and then support these criminals who defy our laws with our tax dollars. This is a recipe for total destruction of our country
This does not end well for what was once the “United” States of America.
I want every illegal immigrant treated the same way Mexico treats US citizens who have driven in Mexico and happened to have 2-3 loose ammunition bouncing somewhere on the floorboards.
Numerous instances documented.
No worse, no kinder.
Until there isn’t a single illegal alien collecting public benefits.. keep deporting.
oh and NO MORE H1 tech visas. NONE. NEVER AGAIN.
If you here illegally, you go immediately, no time to get your stuff or drain your bank account, all is forfeited, you leave with the clothes that you are wearing
Some of the sums of money being talked about here in the UK are just eye watering mind blowing!!!
Nearly FOUR HUNDRED MILLION POUNDS set aside for “asylum” seekers to help them fight deportation here in the UK! All that money goes to “charities”, who then use it to fund lawyers to fight the Government and stop them from deporting “asylum” seekers!!! Which really means, Labour FUNDS charities to fight Labour to stop them deporting “asylum” seekers!!
Just abslutely mindblowingly gobsmackingly mindblowing!!!
And apparently we have this big huge black hole in public finances that is going to necessitate wide scale tax rises to plug that gap!!
“Labour FUNDS charities to fight Labour to stop them deporting “asylum” seekers!!”
But really you have described the situation in any country that supplies the accused with free legal representation. The only difference is the quality of the representation and the money the government is willing to throw at it.
the ONLY legal proceeding suspected invader should get is the hearing to determine whether they came in legally or over the wall./swimming. Once that is settled, the rest is already done. Legal? Go home, we’re done. Illegal? Step aboard the blue bus waiting outside and we will get you back to your home country. Oh, you want to go say goodbye to your phamily? We will take you there….. and make sure you take them with you.
western liberals are to people what fentanyl is to people
The government needs to use lawful methods to challenge those who are questioned.
Is a Terry stop ok when persons seeking work at Home Depot are questioned? Does a specific and articulable fact exist?
Compare the above to those seeking work who run once the federal police show up. Under IL vs. Wardlow, the feds are justified that a reasonable suspicion because the suspects are running away.
All the whinge about ICE being rough and threatening amuses me.
when some clown is holding up he local C store with a blade, and a copper walks in with his service weapon drawn, does anyone but the criminal get upset? No don’t be silly. Most are GLAD the copper is there doing that to which he has been hired.
As for the “landscapers, nannies, and construction workers,” who are here illegally, we need a way to require their employers to pay for the illegals’ return home. And if the illegals were paid (cash wage) less than the wages customarily paid to legal workers, the employers should be required to pay the difference to the illegals — in their home countries. Then, let’s add a substantial fine for hiring the illegals in the first place.
The way to keep keep illegals — at least those who come to take jobs from Americans — out is to make it uneconomical for US businesses and individuals to hire them.