U.S. President Donald Trump has defended the aggressive immigration raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the operations “haven’t gone far enough.”
In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, President Trump reiterated his hardline stance on immigration, which was a central theme of his political campaigns. He criticized what he described as judicial interference that has limited ICE’s efforts to curb illegal immigration.
“I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” Mr. Trump said.
Trump expressed support for ICE’s controversial tactics, which have sparked nationwide debate. Reports and videos circulating online show forceful arrests, including one incident where an agent tackled a mother, the use of tear gas in a Chicago neighborhood, and agents smashing car windows to extract drivers.
Mr. Trump maintained that such methods were justified, insisting that “you have to get the people out.”
The interview marks Mr. Trump’s first appearance on 60 Minutes in five years and his first since he sued and later settled with CBS parent company Paramount over a 2024 interview with then–Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The settlement, notably, did not include an apology.
During the wide-ranging conversation with journalist Norah O’Donnell, Mr. Trump also discussed topics including China, Venezuela, the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, and his outlook on the 2028 presidential election.
