President Donald Trump denied Monday that his administration is considering amnesty for illegal immigrants after weekend remarks suggesting he could be open to a deal that allows some people who entered the country illegally to remain.
Trump told reporters during an impromptu White House briefing, “There’s no amnesty, no, no anything. We keep that, but we focus on the worst of the worst. We want to get the murderers out. We’ve got most of them out. We’ve got most of the really bad.”
The clarification followed a 60 Minutes interview in which Trump told CBS News’ Ross Douthat that he would “love” to work with Democrats on immigration.
He also said the issue had both “helped and hurt” him in the midterms and suggested certain illegal immigrants could be allowed to stay.
The interview was taped shortly before the president announced Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Miller has been a chief architect of the administration’s deportation policy and is known as an immigration hardliner.
Trump’s weekend comments drew strong backlash from supporters of his deportation agenda.
His Monday response rejected amnesty while leaving open questions about how the administration could handle illegal immigrants who are working and paying taxes.
“Some of them are even paying taxes,” Trump remarked. “And we’re seeing what’s going to happen. There won’t be amnesty. Somebody suggested won’t be amnesty, no. They came in. They knew the law.”
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Trump said the administration continues to prioritize removing dangerous criminals. He also blamed the border crisis on former President Joe Biden and repeated claims about the number of murderers who entered the country during the Biden administration.
Trump continued, “You know, Joe Biden allowed 100, well 25 million people to come in. Of that, 11,888 murderers, most of whom committed more than one murder. We’ve gotten most of them.”
The president said some illegal immigrants now have “good jobs” and indicated his administration is consulting outside groups about what to do next.
Trump said his administration was working with different groups on the issue but insisted his policy had not changed.
He also accused other countries of having “emptied their prisons” into the United States and said his administration would continue focusing deportation efforts on serious criminals.
“What Biden did to this country should never, ever be forgotten, and I hope the Democrats will not try and allow that to happen again,” Trump stated.
Trump also used Monday’s White House appearance to signal that another major U.S. offensive against Iran may not be necessary as talks continue over the months-long conflict.
“Iran militarily is effectively over,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
.@POTUS “Iran militarily is effectively over.” pic.twitter.com/nj0xs9mVc9
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) November 9, 2026
Trump noted that the United States would maintain its naval blockade and military presence in the region at the request of neighboring Gulf states.
He identified Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait among the governments that favor keeping the current posture in place.
The president said Iran’s navy and air force had been destroyed and much of its missile and drone manufacturing capacity had been crippled.
He acknowledged Tehran retains some ability to produce missiles and drones but described its broader military capabilities as severely weakened.
“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking very politely,” Trump added. “And we’ll see what happens. But there’s a good chance that that could get ended.”
Trump said the U.S. naval blockade had effectively halted Iranian maritime shipments for months.
Washington expanded its interdiction effort over the weekend with Operation Iron Gate, a U.S. Central Command initiative targeting weapons, dual-use technology, sanctioned goods and illicit revenue moving across Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea.
The president described the combination of restrictions by land and sea as a “total lockdown.”
He said another major military operation “doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing,” while warning that American forces remained “locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason.”
His comments echoed remarks aired Sunday on 60 Minutes, where he said he saw no immediate reason to resume major strikes while the United States continued monitoring Iran’s damaged nuclear sites.
“I’m not looking to,” Trump remarked when questioned about more military action. “I don’t think there’s any reason to.”
Trump later repeated that position on Truth Social while leaving open the possibility of a military response if conditions change.
“Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go,” he wrote. “At this point, however, that seems to be quite unlikely.”
The president said any settlement must protect Israel and other U.S. allies while permanently preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He stopped short of declaring the conflict over, saying Tehran still posed a threat to neighboring countries.
“Because we have some great allies there, and we have to make sure they’re not hurt,” Trump stated. “They are right now a lot safer than they were six months ago, because Iran’s been very much decapitated.”
Trump said the goal is a durable agreement rather than a temporary pause.
“We want to make sure it’s a long-term solution, not just a short-term,” Trump said. “They’ll never have a nuclear weapon, but we have to make sure that’s a long-term solution.”
He also asserted that Iranian officials privately accept the U.S. demand even if they publicly deny it.
“They understand that. They accept that. They don’t admit that they accept it,” Trump concluded. “They will tell you that they don’t accept it, but they accept it 100 percent.”
