Trump: Deportation policy “might be too tough,” but nothing has changed yet
In his first major interview since Republicans lost the House and the Senate, President Trump told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that his deportation policy “might be too tough” and that a deal with the new Democratic majority is “doable.” He suggested that people without status who work in hotels or landscaping and pay taxes could be allowed to stay, while violent criminals and drug dealers should still be deported.
The softer tone came with a mixed signal. Shortly after taping, Trump named Stephen Miller, the architect of his hard-line agenda, as chief of staff, which prompted Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to call it a promotion rather than a course correction. Trump gave no details of what a deal would include, and Democrats say oversight of ICE and DHS is their priority. For now, no bill has been proposed and enforcement policy is unchanged.
New York: ICE chief tells city leaders to “change the law”
New York City’s top ICE official has answered calls to abolish the agency with a challenge. Kenneth Genalo, who leads Enforcement and Removal Operations in the city, told Fox News Digital that officials who dislike ICE’s priorities should change the law in Congress rather than demonize agents. His comments came after 143 New York elected officials, including 31 City Council members, signed a letter urging Congress to dismantle ICE.
Genalo argues that limits on local cooperation push agents into street arrests instead of jail transfers. The dispute is now moving into policy. Mayor Mamdani threatened legal action on November 2 over ICE’s use of city parking lots, and DHS rejected his position. Governor Hochul and Attorney General James reminded local governments of a November 25 deadline to end agreements that let their facilities hold people solely for federal civil immigration detention.
USCIS: Citizenship applicants face a deeper look at their finances
On November 4, USCIS issued a policy memo on good moral character for naturalization, and it reaches further back than many applicants expect. Reviews normally cover the three- or five-year statutory period, but earlier conduct, such as tax issues or benefits fraud, can still count if it bears on current character.
The memo’s main focus is money. Officers may ask whether applicants supported their children or other dependents. Hardship or lawful use of public benefits is not disqualifying by itself, but deliberately refusing to pay despite having the means may hurt a case. The same scrutiny applies to benefits applications, where officers may look for false income or household information and unreported long trips abroad that affect programs like SSI, and to Affidavits of Support that a sponsor failed to honor. To collect this information, USCIS plans to revise Form N-400 and issue further guidance to officers.
Bottom line
For the first time in a while, the tone from Washington is softer. The president says deportations “might be too tough,” talks about letting some tax-paying workers stay, and faces a Congress that has made ICE oversight a priority. But a softer tone is not a softer rule. No deal has been drafted, the chief of staff is the architect of the crackdown, and the one document that did change this week, the USCIS memo, tightens the review of citizenship applicants.
If a thaw comes, it will arrive as law, not as an interview quote, and likely with conditions: clean tax history, steady work, and no gaps in the record. Applicants who prepare for that now will be ready whichever way the policy moves.
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This publication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It summarizes publicly available information as of November 11, 2026, which may not reflect subsequent changes. Reading this publication or contacting the firm through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
