President-elect Donald Trump said during an interview over the weekend that he will not separate families who have family members illegally in the United States — he will instead give them the option to all be deported together.

Trump made the remarks during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” with Kristen Welker when the host accused Trump of separating families during his first term in office.

“We don’t have to separate a family,” Trump said. “We’ll send the whole family, very humanely, back to the country where they came. That way, the family’s not separated.”

Trump said that what will happen will depend on the family in question, as some may prefer just to send the illegal alien member of their family back to their country of origin.

“We need deterrence. Look, ready? When somebody comes here illegally, they’re going out,” Trump said. “It’s very simple. When they come here illegally, they’re going out. Now, if they come here illegally, but their family is here legally, then the family has a choice. The person that came in illegally can go out, or they can all go out together.”

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Trump on deporting illegal aliens:

“We don’t have to separate families. We’ll send the whole family, very humanely, back to the country where they came. That way the family’s not separated. … The person that came in illegally can go out, or they can all go out together. ” pic.twitter.com/vKACqQ653z

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 8, 2024