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26 June 2016 - 08:53

US presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has softened his immigration rhetoric, saying he would not issue “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants.

“President Obama has mass deported vast numbers of people — the most ever, and it's never reported. I think people are going to find that I have not only the best policies, but I will have the biggest heart of anybody,” Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics on Saturday.

“I would not call it mass deportations,” Trump said when asked whether he would have such a plan.

“We are going to get rid of a lot of bad dudes who are here. That I can tell you,” Trump said.

He has previously promised, if elected president, to expel undocumented immigrants in the United States and build a wall on the US-Mexico border.

The billionaire real estate mogul has infuriated Mexico from the start of his candidacy by declaring that the country was sending “criminals” and “rapists” across the border and that he would force the neighboring government to pay for his proposed wall to keep illegal migrants out.

In November, he said he would build a “deportation force” to send those illegally staying in the US back to their home countries.

“We're going to do it in a very humane fashion. Believe me. I have a bigger heart than you do. We're going to do it in a very human fashion,” he said.

Trump's campaign has been marked by controversy from the beginning, including disparaging remarks about women, immigrants and Muslims.

The businessman from New York secured the majority of delegates needed to claim the presidential nomination last month, but he continues to face opposition from many Republican officials and activists who believe he could damage the party for years to come.

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