Brianne Pfannenstiel

The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES, Iowa — Donald Trump delivered a hard-edged speech on immigration Saturday in Des Moines, capping a week of speculation that he’s softening his previously tough stance.

“These international gangs of thugs and drug cartels will be — I promise you, from the first day in office, the first thing I’m going to do, the first piece of paper that I’m going to sign is — we’re going to get rid of these people, day one, before the wall, before anything," he said to boisterous cheers from a crowd of about 1,800.

Trump headlined Sen. Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. And although he skipped the "ride" portion of the event Trump joined a slew of Iowa Republicans for a rallying of the political troops and pork barbecue.

“We will use immigration law to prevent crimes," he said, delivering his remarks off a TelePrompTer. "And we will not wait until some innocent American has been harmed or killed before taking action. We will move justly, but we will move fast, believe me. And we will move tough.”

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The Republican presidential nominee later welcomed to the stage the family of Sarah Root, a 21-year-old Council Bluffs woman who was killed in a vehicle crash by an immigrant in the country illegally.

Trump's appearance follows a week in which he indicated a possible "softening" of his immigration stance, talking broadly about approaching the issue in a more "humane manner."

Trump has built his campaign on a promise to build a wall on the southern border of the United States to keep out undocumented immigrants while also calling for the mass deportation of those in the country illegally. He's pledged to unveil his immigration policy over the next week.

“I am with him 1,000% on immigration,” said Diane Brock of Newton, a retired airline operations manager who echoed the sentiments of many attendees. “The illegal alien criminals have got to go. It is not fair to the people who have been waiting to get into this country legally.”

Others said that even if Trump has somewhat softened his stance, they would be unconcerned with a possible reversal in his policy.

"It would be too hard to send everybody back," said Gale Livingston, a retired Ames resident who plans to vote for Trump in November. "He had to soften his stance. It doesn’t make me think less of him. In fact, it makes me think more of him.”

Trump also took some time to give a rhetorical nod to Iowa’s agriculture industry, touching on issues such as the Renewable Fuel Standard, environmental regulations and threats to family farms.

He vowed to end the "EPA intrusion" into family farms.

Trump promised to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard and corn-based ethanol, eliminate burdensome regulations like the Waters of the United States rule (“which is a disaster”) and provide tax relief.

“President Obama lied to you about his support for the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Trump said. “And you can trust Hillary Clinton far less than you could even Obama.”

Obama campaigned in Iowa on his support of the RFS. But his administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has rolled back the level of ethanol that must be blended into the nation's gasoline.

Democrats criticized the gathering, with Iowa Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire saying in a statement: "While other Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump’s candidacy and warned of the dangers of his leadership, Iowa Republicans, up and down the ticket, choose to stand with Trump and continue to condone his divisive rhetoric and rationalize his unpredictable behavior."

This was Trump's fourth Iowa event since accepting the GOP nomination last month, and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, also has made two solo stops.

Up for grabs are Iowa's six electoral votes, with recent polling indicating a too-close-to-call race. A Real Clear Politics rolling average of August polls shows Clinton with a slim advantage of 1.5 percentage points — well within the margin of error.

Contributing: Bill Petroski, The Des Moines Register