Gingrich warns support for Trump deportations could 'collapse'

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) warned in an interview that support for mass deportations promised after President-elect Trump takes office could “collapse.”

“Lincoln once said that with popular sentiment, anything is possible; without popular sentiment, nothing is possible,” Gingrich told The Guardian.

“Well, you get very many human stories about mothers or babies or children being deported, then support for the deportation program will collapse,” he added.

Gingrich also said that it is “nonsense to” advocate for the deportation of “somebody who came here when they were 2, only speaks English, graduated as a high school valedictorian and is currently a nurse or a doctor.”

“We’re going to deport them, and they don’t speak the language of whatever country their parents came from, and they’ve earned the right to be Americans?”

The president-elect said during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that aired last month that his pledge to deport millions of people in the U.S. illegally, and more broadly change the immigration system, was not idle campaign talk.

“You have no choice. 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 others, and we’re going to see how it goes,” Trump said.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.

Topics

Trump celebrates with supporters at the inaugural balls

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended the Commander-in-Chief, Liberty and Starlight inaugural balls. Here are some of the highlights.
CBS News - 16h
Trump supporters gather in Washington for inauguration

CBS News' Maurice DuBois speaks with supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who have traveled from Indiana to be in Washington for Inauguration Day. They said, that as he prepares to take ...
CBS News - 1d
Support for Trump’s Policies Exceeds Support for Trump

A new poll found the public is sympathetic to the president-elect’s plans to deport migrants and reduce America’s presence overseas.
The New York Times - 3d
Gingrich: Afghans who fought alongside Americans should get 'unusual level of support and treatment'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Sunday that Afghans who fought alongside Americans "against the Taliban" should get "an unusual level of support and treatment." “As you know, with ...
The Hill - Jan. 12
Trump's plan for mass deportation could have a big effect on prices

Some experts say there is really nothing the government can do about high food prices.
CNBC - Jan. 11
Gingrich: Trump 'trying to project' strength with Greenland talk

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says President-elect Trump is attempting to project strength with his recent remarks about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, comments that have not ...
The Hill - Jan. 8
Gingrich urges Trump, GOP to pass tax cuts in 'one big, beautiful bill'

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) encouraged President-elect Trump and Republicans to pass tax cuts as part of a single wide-ranging reconciliation bill, arguing that the GOP’s narrow House ...
The Hill - Jan. 8
How Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans Could Reverse GDP Growth

Estimates of the effects of the president-elect’s plan to expel millions of undocumented workers are colored by politics, but detailed studies warn of major labor disruption, spiking business ...
Inc. - Jan. 7
Brennan presses Homan on Trump administration's deportation plans

CBS News’s Margaret Brennan pressed President-elect Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan on the next administration’s mass deportation plans. Homan joined Brennan on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, where ...
The Hill - Jan. 5
ATF head warns that the Trump administration's funding cut plans could risk lives

Steve Dettelbach, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, warned that President-elect Donald Trump's plans to reduce funding for the agency could risk lives. Scott ...
CBS News - Jan. 4