

Trump Promises to Launch Mass Deportations, Pardon January 6 Prisoners in Wide-Ranging NBC Interview

President-elect Donald Trump sat down with NBC News for a wide ranging interview where made several key promises, including pardons for Capitol rioters, and vowed to follow through on his plan to deport million of illegal immigrants.
NBC’s Meet the Press aired the Trump interview Sunday after he sat down Friday with anchor Kirsten Welker for more than an hour, his first interview since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris resoundingly in November.
Trump renewed his campaign promise to enact mass deportations, beginning with criminals and going from there. For families with mixed immigration status, Trump suggested deporting them all in order to keep them together.
“First of all, they’re costing us a fortune. But we’re starting with the criminals, and we’ve got to do it. And then we’re starting with the others, and we’re going to see how it goes,” Trump said.
Trump appointed former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan to be his border czar and oversee the mass deportation program. Homan will likely work closely with Trump’s pick to run the Department of Homeland Security, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem (R), on attempting to carry out Trump’s agenda.
One group that could be protected from mass deportation is “DREAMers,” non-citizens brought to the U.S. illegally as children who have lived almost their entire lives in America. Trump told NBC he wants to work with Democrats on a solution to keep them in the country.
“I will work with the Democrats on a plan,” Trump said. “We’re going to have to do something with them.”
Trump also committed to ending birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment and grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ status. To achieve this transformational change, Trump floated a Constitutional amendment to avoid inevitable legal challenges.
“We’ll maybe have to go back to the people,” Trump said. “But we have to end it.”
Another idea Trump explored on the campaign trail was freeing individuals who are currently imprisoned for charges connected to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. In the NBC interview, Trump criticized how they have been and said he would pardon them.
“These people are living in hell,” Trump asserted.
Besides immigration, Trump and Welker discussed a number of issues ranging from economic and foreign policy to political retribution. Trump told Meet the Press he is working on ending the war in Ukraine and said he would maintain the U.S.’s presence in NATO if other allied national fulfill their obligations to the alliance.
During the campaign, Trump frequently mentioned his plans to impose greater tariffs on U.S. imports. He has already threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada if they do not assist the U.S. with curtailing illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl.
Speaking with NBC, Trump reiterated his tariff plan but admitted he could not say whether or not they would lead to higher prices.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Trump said.
He similarly doubled down on his opposition to raising the eligible age for Medicare and Social Security, a departure from past Republican policymaking. Trump clarified that cutting those programs would not be part of businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the advisory committee Trump put together to examine government waste and excessive regulation. Trump does continue to support extending the tax cuts that were the signature legislative achievement of his first term.
On abortion, Trump maintained his stance against restrictions on the use of abortion pills, a position that could put Trump at odds with pro-lifers. Trump took a moderate position on abortion throughout the campaign, deflecting attacks from Democrats on the hot-button issue.
A common theme of Trump’s political comeback has been retribution against his political enemies after the Biden Justice Department and elected Democratic prosecutors pursued criminal cases against him. Trump selected former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi (R) to be the next attorney general and picked staunch ally Kash Patel to run the FBI and oversee major changes.
But, Trump ruled out appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden and expressed his desire to enact retribution through success. On the other hand, Trump said members of the House January 6th committee “should go to jail” and said special counsel Jack Smith is “very corrupt” for the prosecutions he waged against Trump.
Nonetheless, Trump said he would not order the Justice Department and FBI to go after his political opponents.
The Biden administration is reportedly preparing preemptive pardons for political foes who might be the subject of investigations from the incoming Trump administration.
California Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D), a leading proponent of false claims of collusion between Trump and Russia, and former Representative Liz Cheney (R) are among those being considered. Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci is also on the reported list.
Trump told Meet the Press that “maybe [Biden] should” give preemptive pardons to January 6th committee members.