Former President Trump spoke exclusively with Fox News Channel's “One Nation” host Brian Kilmeade during a day of campaigning Wednesday in New York, which included a rally on Long Island.
The former president said in the interview that he believes New York could go Democratic in November because of growing concerns about illegal immigration in the state.
“But most importantly, close the border immediately, because we're getting millions of people coming in from prisons, from mental hospitals, from terrorist organizations, and we're not going to tolerate that anymore,” Trump told Kilmeade.
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According to the House Homeland Security Committee, there have been nearly 8 million encounters with illegal immigrants at the southern border since the Biden administration took office.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump spoke at a rally in Uniondale, New York on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“We want to win in New York, and we think we can do that given what's happened with the immigration crisis,” Trump said, “with people who, frankly, are just getting out of prison from the Congo, the Middle East, a lot of other places, and New Yorkers are all coming to New York.”
In 2020, Donald Trump won 37.8% of the vote in New York state, according to the New York State Board of Elections.
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“Look, when I left here this was a great place and now it's taken over by people who shouldn't be in this country, very dangerous people, street gangs,” he said.
The Republican presidential candidate is originally from New York but currently lives in Florida, where he plans to vote in November.
A street vendor selling his wares along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, New York (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“You see what's happening in other states, not just in New York, but in Colorado where Venezuelans are taking over property with guns, even though our own military doesn't even have guns or rifles,” Trump said.
The Venezuela-based international crime organization Tren de Aragua made national news this month after security camera footage of armed men at an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, went viral. Many of those arrested in connection to the organization are illegal immigrants.
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“So we have to turn this around, and we're going to turn it around quickly. We have to deport every single one of those criminals that have been taken out, and we will,” Trump said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
