Shawdesh Desk:

President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that “you have no choice” but to deport everyone who is illegally in the U.S., including possibly removing the American citizen family members of those deported.

Trump also said he will move to end birthright citizenship — long enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution — which would strip rights from those born in the country to undocumented parents.

But, he said, he is open to working with Democrats to pass legislation that would ensure Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children — would be able to remain in the country.

Trump’s comments about his mass deportation plan, a key promise of his presidential campaign, were the most expansive since he won the election in November. The program, he said, will begin with undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and then advance to “people outside of criminals.” He did not detail which crimes would be included.

“I think you have to do it,” Trump said of his deportation effort. “It’s a very tough thing to do. It’s — but you have to have, you know, you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know, the people that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been on line for 10 years to come into the country.”

“We have to get the criminals out of our country,” Trump said, later adding: “But we’re starting with the criminals, and we got to do it. And then we’re starting with others, and we’re going to see how it goes.”

Asked by Welker, “Who are the others?” Trump responded, “Others are other people outside of criminals.”

There was a large increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants crossing into the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s time in office, though that number has fallen following executive actions in recent months.

Tightening restrictions around the U.S. border with Mexico was at the forefront of Trump’s candidacy — much as it was during his first run in 2016. Trump and allies routinely highlighted acts of violence committed by undocumented immigrants to bolster their case. (A 2024 study from the National Institute of Justice found that Texas arrest records between 2012 and 2018 showed undocumented immigrants were arrested at less than half the rate of native-born Americans for violent crimes.)

Trump also described scenarios in which U.S. citizens may choose to be deported along with family members in the country illegally. His comments echoed Tom Homan, his pick to serve as border czar in the upcoming administration, in saying that he will be deporting families with mixed immigration status together.

“Let me ask you about another group of people, the estimated 4 million families in America who have mixed immigration status. So I’m talking about parents who might be here illegally,” Welker said, “but the kids are here legally.”