Trump starting to sound like Obama on immigration

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent passes birdwatcher Nancy Hill, 81, along a section of the border wall Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, in Hidago, Texas. President-elect Donald Trump is starting to sound a lot more like President Barack Obama on his stance on immigration and easing his pledge to build a wall across the Mexican border. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent passes birdwatcher Nancy Hill, 81, along a section of the border wall Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, in Hidago, Texas. President-elect Donald Trump is starting to sound a lot more like President Barack Obama on his stance on immigration and easing his pledge to build a wall across the Mexican border. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By Associated Press November 14, 2016 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – President-elect Donald Trump is starting to sound an awful lot like President Barack Obama on immigration.

In his first postelection interview, Trump said he will focus on deporting criminal immigrants and not everyone living in the United States illegally. Two million or 3 million people could be immediate targets for deportation under this approach, Trump said, providing a likely inflated figure.

And that “big, beautiful wall” at the Mexican border? Trump said he may be amenable to a fence along some parts of the roughly 2,000-mile border.

The softened stance contrasts sharply with Trump’s campaign rhetoric. As a candidate, he called for everyone living in the country illegally to return to their home countries and for Mexico to pay billions of dollars for the wall.

A look at Trump’s shifting immigration stance: