It would be a mistake for Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE to soften his stance on illegal immigration, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Wednesday.

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Trump, during a town hall event Tuesday on Fox News, indicated he may be open to "softening" immigration laws "because we're not looking to hurt people."

His campaign manager said over the weekend said it was still "to be determined" whether Trump's immigration plans would include a deportation force, as he previously advocated, to remove the approximately 11 million people living illegally in the U.S.

But King said Wednesday Trump's recent comments should be balanced with his past remarks on the subject, as reported by Politico.

"His answer then was there could be some softening, which I didn't quite hear as he'd be willing to change the law," King said on CNN, adding that he would "push back" on any changes.

"And I think Donald Trump understands this. If asked further on this, I think he would come back to this point: We have to restore the respect for the rule of law in America. And part of that is to enforce the laws that we have. If we fail to do that, then the result of that will be reward people for breaking the law which means that it would erode the very position that's taken him to the nomination."

King went on to say allowing people to stay would be "tantamount to amnesty."

"I would say yes. And the reason is they're not law-abiding in the first place. By crossing the border illegally, they're by definition criminals. And he has said he wants to remove the criminals in this country," King said.