Trump vows to be ‘ fair, but firm’ on immigrants

Republican Donald Trump promised on Monday to be “fair, but firm” toward the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally, a shift in tone that raised questions on whether he’s backtracking from previous pledges to push for mass deportations.

The billionaire businessman, whose hard- line approach to immigration and fierce rhetoric propelled him to the GOP presidential nomination, insisted that he’s not “flip-flopping” on the divisive issue as he works to broaden his support. Polls show him trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in both national polls and battleground states.

Any walk- back would mark a dramatic reversal for Trump, whose tough stand on immigration has been the driving issue of his campaign. During the GOP primary, Trump vowed to use a “deportation force” to round up and deport the millions of people living in the country illegally — a proposal that excited many of his core supporters, but alienated Hispanic voters who could be pivotal in key states.

Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends on Monday that he was “working with a lot of people in the Hispanic community to try and come up with an answer.”

“We want to come up with a really fair, but firm answer. It has to be very firm. But we want to come up with something fair,” he said.

But Trump’s campaign has pushed back on the notion that he’s reversing course.

“Mr. Trump said nothi ng today that he hasn’t said many times before, including in his convention speech,” rapid response director Steven Cheung said after the meeting.

Over the last week, Trump has worked to moderate his rougher edges, offering regrets for remarks he’s made that have caused pain and sticking with his teleprompter at a series of events.