President Donald Trump has privately conceded that his aggressive mass deportation campaign went too far, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, according to sources familiar with recent conversations between the president, his wife and top White House officials.
In closed-door meetings, Trump expressed concern that his administration’s hardline immigration policies have created chaos in American cities and damaged his political standing ahead of the midterms. Voters dislike the phrase “mass deportation,” Trump’s advisers warned him.
The stunning reversal marks a dramatic pivot from Trump’s signature campaign promise. Instead of touting mass deportations, the president has directed aides to rebrand the effort around arresting “bad guys,” according to the report.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles spearheaded the reset, convinced that Trump’s immigration team had turned a marquee issue into a political liability. The strategy shift accelerated after Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, viewed as too aggressive.
The news comes as immigration arrests plummeted to roughly 1,200 per day from over 1,500 daily during peak enforcement operations. High-profile ICE raids in major cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C., have been shelved for now.
A Washington Post/ABC News survey found 58% of Americans now believe he’s “going too far” with deportations, up from 48% in April 2025.
The retreat has infuriated Trump’s hardline immigration allies, including conservative groups demanding a minimum of 1 million deportations this year, a goal the administration fell far short of in 2025.
“Republicans need to turn out their base for the midterms, and not talking about President Trump’s promises, his signature campaign promise, is not the way to turn them out,” said Rosemary Jenks, co-founder of the Immigration Accountability Project, a conservative immigration group.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson insisted nothing has changed.
“Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” she said.
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