Republican Senator John Barrasso on Sunday struggled to hold firm on his commitment to fund Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan when confronted with the eye-popping price tag.
Trump has repeatedly spoken about his vision to remove every illegal immigrant from the United States, with estimations suggesting 10-12 million people would fall under the deportation scheme.
On Thursday, Trump told Kristen Welker that there “is no price tag” to stop him from undertaking the plan.
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Welker reiterated this quote when speaking to Barrasso on Sunday‘s Meet the Press, but the senator wasn’t quite as firm when she told him that it could cost $88 billion per year to remove just one million illegal immigrants.
“Ultimately Congress will have to decide whether to give President-elect Trump a blank check. Do you agree that there is no price tag for Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan?” Welker asked.
“Well I agree there’s no price tag on protecting the safety and security of our country and our citizens. President Trump is going to enforce the law, and we haven’t had that over the last four years,” Barrasso said.
“There are over 10 million illegal immigrants in this country right now and we’re talking about people who are from criminal cartels, drug dealers, people on the terrorist watch list... and what the President said is he wants to go after and prioritize those people first, to deport those individuals.”
“Worth noting, not all 10 million are criminals,” Welker interjected.
The NBC News host then added: “But, let me drill down with you because–by some estimates–that mass deportation plan could cost as much as $88 billion a year just to deport one million people, Senator."
“Would you approve of a package that big which would undoubtedly add to the national debt?” she asked.
Barrasso sidestepped the question after a moment of silence, instead rehashing his former point about deporting illegal criminals.
“I agree with the president with where we need to start,” he said, stammering over his words.
“We need to start with the people who are felons who have been left in this country. People who are on the terrorist watch list. People who have been convicted in other countries of murder and rape. People who are committing crimes in this country.
“That’s the place to start and that’s where President Trump is about to start,” the senator concluded.
