Donald Trump · White House · US Congress · Axios
MAGA allies say Trump is going soft on deportations, demand "Phase 2"
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◎ Multiple-sources
Some conservatives say President Trump is flirting with betraying his biggest campaign promise on mass deportations, and the voters who put him there.
Key facts
- The coalition pegs the number of ICE removals at about 350,000 in fiscal year 2025, compared to 271,400 in the prior year under President Biden
- Across Capitol Hill, the administration and the relevant agencies, the coalition has already been making its case for Phase 2
- The Mass Deportation Coalition, led by the Oversight Project's Mike Howell, spans GOP think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, newer advocacy groups like the Immigration Accountability Project
- Some conservatives say President Trump is flirting with betraying his biggest campaign promise on mass deportations, and the voters who put him there
Summary
The White House is backing away from mass deportation rhetoric ahead of the midterms, infuriating the once-fringe immigration hardliners who considered Trump their last shot at reversing decades of mass migration. "Our basic goal of the Mass Deportation Coalition is to provide Trump with what we call kind of a right flank, saying, 'No, Mr. President, you're listening to the wrong people,'" Mark Morgan, the former head of ICE and Customs and Border Protection, told Axios. The Mass Deportation Coalition, led by the Oversight Project's Mike Howell, spans GOP think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, newer advocacy groups like the Immigration Accountability Project, and several Young Republican clubs.