Here’s what Donald Trump, American business magnate, investor, socialite, and television personality, is saying about immigration:
ARRARAS: Mr. Trump, you have been very vocal about securing the Mexican border, but ISIS has called upon its supporters to conduct attacks on our neighbor to the North, Canada.
As a matter of fact, U.S. officials have warned that it is the Canadian border which is the most significant threat. You have said that you will not build a wall in Canada. When it comes to national security, and the threat of terrorism, why does Mexico need a wall, and Canada doesn’t? Isn’t that, like, closing the front door, and leaving the back door open?
TRUMP: First of all, you’re talking about a border that’s many, many times longer. You’re talking about a massive border.
We have far less problem with that border than we do with our Southern border, and tremendous amounts — you know, I won, I had the privilege of winning by a landslide, by the way, New Hampshire.
You go to New Hampshire, the first thing they talk about is heroin and drugs pouring in. And, you wouldn’t think this beautiful place — it’s beautiful. With the trees and the roads, and the countryside. Their biggest problem is heroin, and it’s such a shame to see it.
They’re pouring in from the Southern border, so I’m talking about great security. I’m talking about a wall that can absolutely be built, and I’ll build it on time, on budget. It’ll be a very high wall, a great wall. It’s going to be built, it’s going to be built. It’s going to be paid for by Canada, by the way — maybe I’ll get Canada to pay? Got to be paid for by Mexico.
The problem with Canada, you’re talking about a massively long piece. You’re talking about a border that would be about four times longer. It would be very, very hard to do, and we — it is not our biggest problem. I don’t care what anyone says. It is not our big problem. Our big problem is not only people coming in, and in many cases the wrong people, it’s the tremendous amount of drugs that are coming in. – WashingtonPost
~~ Feb 25, 2016
“BLITZER: Mr. Trump, your campaign, as you well remember, began with the idea of building a wall along the southern border. It’s about 315 miles southwest of where we are right now. You’ve said the Mexican government will pay for it.
TRUMP: Correct.
BLITZER: The spokesperson for the current president of Mexico says that will never happen. The last two presidents of Mexico say that will never happen. In fact, the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox — he said today, and I’m quoting him — he said, “I’m not going to pay for that,” quote, “effing wall.”
So if you don’t get an actual check from the Mexican government for $8 billion or $10 billion or $12 billion, whatever it will cost, how are you going to make them pay for the wall?
TRUMP: I will, and the wall just got 10 feet taller, believe me.
It just got 10 feet taller. I saw him make that — I saw him make the statement. I saw him use the word that he used. I can only tell you, if I would have used even half of that word, it would have been national scandal.
This guy used a filthy, disgusting word on television, and he should be ashamed of himself, and he should apologize, OK? Number one. Number two, we have a trade deficit with Mexico of $58 billion a year. And that doesn’t include all the drugs that are pouring across and destroying our country.
We’re going to make them pay for that wall. Now, the wall is $10 billion to $12 billion, if I do it. If these guys do it, it’ll end up costing $200 billion.
But the wall is $10 billion to $12 billion. You need 1,000 — you need 1,000 miles. The Great Wall of China, built 2,000 years ago — 2,000, is 13,000 miles. We need 1,000, because we have a lot of natural barriers.
We can do it for $10 billion to $12 billion, and it’s a real wall. This is a wall that’s a heck of a lot higher than the ceiling you’re looking at. This is a wall that’s going to work.
Mexico will pay for it, because they are not doing us any favors. They could stop all of this illegal trade if they wanted to…
… immediately. Mexico will pay for the wall. It’s a small portion of the kind of money that we lose and the deficits that we have with Mexico.
BLITZER: If the — if the Mexicans don’t pay for the wall, will you start a trade war with Mexico?
TRUMP: Well, you know, I don’t mind trade wars when we’re losing $58 billion a year, you want to know the truth. We’re losing so much.
We’re losing so much with Mexico and China — with China, we’re losing $500 billion a year. And then people say, “don’t we want to trade?” I don’t mind trading, but I don’t want to lose $500 billion. I don’t want to lose $58 billion.
Mexico just took Carrier Corporation, maker of air conditioners. They just took Ford. They’re building a $2.5 billion plant. They just took Nabisco out of Chicago.
And I always say I’m not having Oreos anymore, which is true, by the way. But they just took a big plant from Nabisco into Mexico. They’re taking our businesses. I don’t mind.
BLITZER: Thank you. Senator Rubio?
RUBIO: Yeah, a couple points. If he builds the wall the way he built Trump Towers, he’ll be using illegal immigrant labor to do it. The second…
TRUMP: Such a cute sound bite.
RUBIO: But it — no, it’s not a sound bite. It’s a fact. Again, go online and Google it. Donald Trump, Polish workers. You’ll see it.
The second thing, about the trade war — I don’t understand, because your ties and the clothes you make is made in Mexico and in China. So you’re gonna be starting a trade war against your own ties and your own suits.
TRUMP: All right, you know what?
RUBIO: Why don’t you make them in America?
TRUMP: Because they devalue their currency — they devalue their currencies…
RUBIO: Well, then make them in America.
TRUMP: … that makes it — well, you don’t know a thing about business. You lose on everything…
RUBIO: Well, make them in America.
TRUMP: Let me just tell you — they de-value their currency. They de-value their currencies.
RUBIO: Well then, make them in America.
TRUMP: That makes it — well, you don’t know a thing about business. You lose on everything you do.
RUBIO: Well, make them in America.
TRUMP: Let me just tell you, they de-value their currencies. China, Mexico, everybody. Japan with the cars. They de-value their currencies to such an extent that our businesses cannot compete with them, our workers lose their jobs…
RUBIO: And so you make them in China and in Russia.
TRUMP: But you wouldn’t know anything about it because you’re a lousy businessman.” – Time
~~ Feb 25, 2016
“The first thing I’d do is knock out these executive order signed by our President. Especially the one on the border where people are allowed to come in and pour into our country like swiss cheese.” – TheHill
~~ Feb 24, 2016
“We’re going to build the wall. And whose going to pay for that wall?”
“Mexico!” shouted the crowd in response.
Trump: “They think we’re kidding, too, don’t they folks, huh? We’re not kidding. We’re not going to be the dummies, anymore folks. We’re going to be the smart ones.” – PBS
~~ Feb 23, 2016
“Ted Cruz only talks tough on immigration now because he did so badly in S.C. He is in favor of amnesty and weak on illegal immigration.” – Via Twitter
~~ Feb 23, 2016
“When I say the wall, everybody loves the wall. Even these crazy candidates. I have people they come up to me. The other day I was listening to a candidate and he said, we will build the wall. My wife said, where did that come from? We played it back. But now they’re saying we’ll build a wall. Now everybody likes the idea of the wall. We will build the wall.” – FoxNews
~~ Feb 22, 2016
“COOPER: How surprised were you by what the pope said? For those who don’t know, he said – part of what he said was “a person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be, and not of building bridges is not Christian; this is not the Gospel.”
TRUMP: Well, I didn’t think it was a good thing for him to say, frankly. And he was talking about the border, and as you know, I’m very strong on border security, and we have to have a border in this country, and we certainly don’t have one right now.
And, as you know, we’re talking about building a wall. We’re gonna build a wall, and Mexico’s gonna pay for the wall, and that’s the way it is. They – you know, we have a trade balance, and – and if you look at it – imbalance of about $58 billion with Mexico.
And it’s really more than that, because we also subsidize, et cetera, et cetera, so they’re gonna pay for the wall. But somehow, the government of Mexico spoke with the Pope – I mean, they spent a lot of time with the Pope – and by the time he left, he made a statement – I don’t know…
COOPER: Wait, you think that the government of Mexico somehow got the Pope to say this?
TRUMP: Absolutely. Well, I don’t think they said that way. But I think they probably talked about isn’t it terrible that Mr. Trump wants to have border security, et cetera, et cetera.
And the Pope made the statement, and I think it was probably a little bit nicer statement than it was reported by you folks in the media, because after I read it, it was a little bit softer.
But the bottom line is we’ve gotta have a border, we’ve gotta have security. We have tremendous illegal immigration in the country. (inaudible).
COOPER: Well, I’ll just say, the Pope did go on to say, “this is – this is not the gospel. As far as what you have said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I’m not gonna get involved on that.
“I say only that this man is not Christian, if he has said things like that. We must see if he’s said things in that way, and I will give him the benefit of the doubt.”
TRUMP: And he also talked about having a wall is not Christian, and he’s got an awfully big wall at the Vatican, I will tell you. So it’s gonna be an interesting – how – how’s he…
COOPER: But people do come and go through the Vatican, and it’s open to tour. TRUMP: And they’re gonna come and go through the wall. I mean – you know, but they’re gonna come and go legally. They’re gonna do it legally. And that’s what I want, and that’s what a lot of people want, obviously, because they agree with me.
COOPER: But you – you’ve been in fights with a lot of people. But in – with the Pope – I mean, does it give you pause?
TRUMP: I don’t like fighting with the Pope, actually. I don’t think this is a fight. I think he said something much softer than was originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government.
He didn’t see the tremendous strain that – you know, the border’s causing us with respect to illegal immigration, with the drugs pouring across the border.
I mean, I – I just won the New Hampshire primary, and I will tell you these are amazing people. The biggest single problem that I had, no matter where I went in New Hampshire, was heroin, and it’s pouring in. And it is just pouring into the area.
And – you know, it’s sort of funny, because you – you look at New Hampshire as being this beautiful, idyllic place – magnificent. I loved it. I love the people there. I love the whole place. And it’s the last place you think that they’d really have a big drug problem.
They have a massive drug problem, as you know. And it’s always the first subject, no matter what I do – it’s the first subject they want to talk about, and we’ve got to stop it. And it’s pouring in through the southern border, and we are going to stop it.” – CNN
~~ Feb 18, 2016
“You have accused Jeb Bush of being weak on immigration…” a reporter began during a South Carolina press conference.
“Weak, period,” Trump corrected.
“There are over 100,000 young people known as DREAMers who have deferred action given to them…” she began again, referring to the program enacted by executive action by President Barack Obama in 2012.
“Sure, I think it’s great,” Trump said.
“What should they expect?” she asked.
Trump responded by saying he was more concerned about “dreamers” who were born to Americans. “I want dreamers to come from this country,” he said. “You mentioned dreamers; I want dreamers to come from the United States. I want the people in the United States that have children, I want them to have dreams also.” – Mediaite
~~ Feb 15, 2015
“Had we had my immigration policies in effect, those people wouldn’t have been in the country for the most part. I don’t know if [Bush] lied or not. I know the CIA and other agencies knew something bad was going to happen. They did nothing about it.” – ABCNews
~~ Feb 16, 2016
“When I announced that I was running for president on June 16, illegal immigration wasn’t even a subject. If I didn’t bring it up, we wouldn’t even be talking. Now, I don’t often agree with Marco, and I don’t often agree with Ted, but I can in this case. The weakest person on this stage by far on illegal immigration is Jeb Bush. They come out of an act of love. Well whether you like it or not, he is so weak on illegal immigration, it’s laughable. and everybody knows it.” – Breitbart.com
~~ Feb 13, 2016
“I want everybody taken care of, but we have to take care of our people in this country. We’re not taking care of our people. We have no border. We have no control. People are flooding across. We can’t have it. We either have a border, and I’m very strongly — I’m not proposing. I will build a wall. I will build a wall.
Remember this, the wall will be paid for by Mexico. We are not being treated right.
We are not being treated properly. If we don’t have borders, if we don’t have strength, we don’t have a country. People are flowing across. We have to take care of our people. Believe me.
Donald Trump ripped into Pope Francis as a “very political person” for visiting areas close to the United States’ border of Mexico during an upcoming trip and for lacking an understanding of the U.S.’ immigration situation.” – NYTimes
~~ Feb 13, 2016
“So I think that the pope is a very political person. I think that he doesn’t understand the problems our country has. I don’t think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico,” Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox Business’ “Varney & Company” on Thursday, adding, “Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing.” – Politico
~~Feb 11, 2016
“We’re going to have strong, incredible borders and people are going to come into our country, but they’re going to come in legally. Legally. We’re going to build a wall. It’s going to be built. It’s not even — believe it or not — it’s not even a difficult thing to do. And, by the way, for the people of New Hampshire where you have a tremendous problem with heroin and drugs, the first thing they mention, “please do something because there’s so much of it; it’s so cheap.” We’re going to end it. We’re going to end it at the southern border. It’s going to be over.” – Vox
~~Feb 9, 2016
