Vance refuses to say whether Trump’s plans to expel millions of migrants would mean separating families

JD Vanceevaded giving specifics regarding one of the Trump administration’s greatest controversies on Sundayas he faced questions about immigration, border security, and the former president’s plan to deport hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of undocumented immigrants.

Vance sat down for an extended interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press and took a line of questioning about one of Donald Trump’s main 2024 campaign promises: to enact the “largest deportation operation in American history”, per his campaign’s own description. What that represents in reality would be a massive operation requiring significant federal funding, state cooperation, and could result in serious repercussions to communities around the country.

But when asked by Welker a question with a seemingly obvious answer — whether the concept of separating family units, including young children from their parents, would be revived under a second Trump term — Vance could not answer.

Instead, he argued that he believed “families are currently being separated” and added that “you’re certainly going to have to deport some people in this country”. But he argued that a Trump administration would prioritize violent criminals for deportation.

“Those people need to be deported,” said the GOP vice presidential nominee. “That’s where you focus federal resources.”

Vance’s comment about families “currently” being separated under the Biden administration digs at a grey area in immigration policy which has rankled progressives over the past three years. To be clear: immigration authorities under Biden are not separating families from young children,as was introduced during Trump’s term in office, when family units are detained by border security