President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that “you have no choice” but to deport anyone who is in the United States illegally, possibly including the family members of those deported are American citizens.

Trump also said he would work to abolish birthright, long enshrined in the 14th Amendment, which would strip those born in the country of the right to have undocumented parents.

But he said he was open to working with Democrats to pass legislation that would ensure Dreamers – undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children – could stay in the country.

Trump’s comments on his mass deportation plan, a central promise of his presidential campaign, were the most expansive since his election victory in November. The program, he said, will start with undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and then move to “people outside of the criminal fold.” He did not specify which crimes would be included.

“I think you have to do it,” Trump said of his deportation efforts. “It is a very difficult thing. It is – but you have to have rules, regulations and laws. They came in illegally. You know, the people who have been treated very unfairly are the people who were online for ten years to get into the country.”

“We have to get the criminals out of our country,” Trump said, later adding, “But we start with the criminals, and we have to do it.” And then we’ll start with others and we’ll see how it goes.”

When Welker asked, “Who are the others?” Trump replied, “Others are other people besides criminals.”

There has been a sharp increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s administration, although that number has declined in recent months due to government actions.

Tightening restrictions around the U.S. border with Mexico was at the forefront of Trump’s candidacy – just as it was when he first ran in 2016. Trump and his allies regularly highlighted acts of violence by undocumented immigrants to bolster their arguments. (A 2024 National Institute of Justice study found that between 2012 and 2018, Texas arrest records showed that undocumented immigrants were arrested for violent crimes at less than half the rate of native-born Americans.)

Trump also described scenarios in which US citizens could choose to be deported illegally along with their family members in the country. His comments echoed Tom Homan, who sought to serve as border czar in the incoming administration, when he said he would deport families of mixed immigration status together.

“Let me ask you about another group of people, the estimated 4 million families in America who have mixed immigration status. So I’m talking about parents who may be here illegally,” Welker said, “but the children are here legally.”

“I don’t want to destroy families,” Trump said. “The only way to keep the family from breaking up is to keep them together and then have to send them all back.”

Welker also asked about the zero-tolerance policy during Trump’s first term, which separated families at the border to deter those who chose to enter the U.S. illegally. Trump eventually ended the practice.

“We don’t have to separate families,” Trump said. “We will very humanely send the whole family back to the country they came to.”

“So no more family separations?” Welker asked. “You’re not reviving the zero-tolerance policy?”

“It depends on the family,” Trump said, later adding: “If they come here illegally, but their family is here legally, then the family has a choice.” The person who came in illegally can go out, or they can all go out together.”

As for birthright citizenship, Trump said he would seek to repeal it through executive action — which would certainly prompt immediate legal challenges.

“We have to end it,” Trump said, calling it “ridiculous.”

Trump pointed out that birthright citizenship is unique, saying, “You know, we’re the only country that has it.” However, according to a Library of Congress research, more than 30 nations grant birthright citizenship, including Canada and Brazil.

The president-elect chose a softer tone when speaking about Dreamers, who came to the United States as children nearly 20 or more years ago and are covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows them to stay in the country stay and work legally.

“We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people who were brought here at a very young age and many of them are now middle-aged people, they don’t even speak the language of their country,” Trump said, adding: “I will work with the Democrats on a plan.”

“They were brought to this country many years ago,” he continued. “Some of them are no longer young people and in many cases they have become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases they have small businesses. In some cases they may have large companies and we need to do something with them.”