Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska went on CNN’s News Central this week and tore into President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement. The Republican lawmaker claimed the administration’s deportation push has swung too far and no longer matches what most Americans want.
Bacon argued that Republicans once dominated the immigration fight.
“We took a strength of the Republicans. We owned the immigration debate. The last election, 2 to 1 voters said they wanted Republicans to fix the border, get rid of violent people and criminals. And the president did that. But then we went from one extreme to the other extreme, where we’re actually deporting people who were here legally and were working, were being a plus or asset to our communities,” the congressman stated.
“And I can give you many different examples. In this young woman’s case, her mom brought her here at 16. They came to the border, reported into the border. They were allowed in. So they came in legally. By the way, she taught herself English. She was an honor graduate at high school and college. She got herself a pilot’s license, and wanted to work for the airlines.”
“This lady pulled herself up by her own bootstraps or she was abandoned and we deported her. And I can’t see a single positive for deporting someone like that. And there’s a lot of other examples like this. So I think we, the Republicans or President Trump, took a strength and turned it into a weakness within two years.”
The Nebraska Republican insisted that ordinary voters prefer practical results over rigid enforcement. Secure the border. Keep violent offenders out. But leave alone long-settled workers who hold jobs, raise families, and own homes.
“Most voters want something that’s common sense, secure borders. We don’t want violent people. We also want some common sense on deporting people who have been here ten, 20 years, have families, own homes. They’re working. They’re adding to their community. What good is it to deport those folks? And there was no goodness deporting Mariana, who I was talking about there. We’ve taken people who’ve been here legally under TPS, they’re here legally, they’re working, they have families, we’re deporting them,” Bacon continued.
“And I don’t see a benefit to America or to these people. And I think most Americans want a more humanitarian, a Christian, or decent policy here. But they also rejected President Biden’s open borders. They want something that’s common sense, more in the middle. And we went, we’re going from one extreme to the other extreme. And I think it’s going to hurt us in November, unfortunately.”
Bacon’s remarks put him at odds with the hard line that delivered Republican gains on the border issue.
He presented the young pilot as proof that current removals harm productive people who entered under prior rules and built lives here. He tied the same concern to Temporary Protected Status holders who work and raise families.
The congressman framed the choice as one between chaos under the previous White House and an opposite extreme that now removes legal workers.
He warned that this shift risks alienating the very voters who demanded border control.
Bacon’s appearance on the network came as the administration continues large-scale removals. He offered the pilot’s story and TPS cases as concrete examples of people he believes should stay.
He repeated that Americans rejected open borders yet also reject policies that ignore family ties and work records.
