PHOENIX — Seeking to end confusion over his aggressive but recently muddled language on immigration, Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to remove millions of people living in the country illegally if he becomes president, warning that failure to do so would jeopardize the “well-being of the American people.”

But Trump didn’t address what he would do about millions more who might remain under his approach — the major question that has frustrated past congressional attempts at remaking the nation’s immigration laws.

Instead, Trump repeated the standard Republican talking point that only after securing the border can such a discussion begin to take place.

It was a retreat in the rhetoric for the billionaire from the GOP primaries, when he had vowed his “deportation force” would seek to remove all who didn’t have permission to live and work in the country.

The Republican presidential candidate insisted than any of the estimated 11 million such immigrants who want to seek legal status or citizenship in the United States must return to their home countries in order to do so. And he outlined plans to create a special task force that would prioritize the deportation of criminals, people who have overstayed their visas and other immediate security threats.

“Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation,” Trump charged in the highly anticipated speech, which took place hours after he met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

He added, “There will be no amnesty.”

“Illegal immigration hurts our economy. I’m really glad Trump pointed that out because I think a lot of naysayers like to throw out the word, ‘racist,'” said Corrin Rankin, Northern California director of the African American Coalition for Donald Trump for President. “It’s not about race. It’s not about what country you come from. Illegal immigration hurts our economy.”

Rankin said she commends Trump for starting a much-needed dialogue on a difficult topic.

“The fact of the matter is that, Americans, we cannot go into Mexico and do the same things (undocumented immigrants) are doing here.”

Not everyone agreed, however.

“I think he’s trying to make things up (about undocumented immigrants) just to build up the hype,” said Carlos Budhabhatti, project manager for the San Jose-based Immigrant Empowerment Foundation. “That’s what grabs people’s attention. I think there are a lot of people who are very scared of him.”

Budhabhatti said Trump — and many of his followers — have shown a lack of knowledge about immigrant communities.

“The community we work with, they already know things Trump says are not true,” he said. “What immigrants need to know is if they want to have a voice or be empowered, they need to go out there and register to vote or get people to vote on their behalf.”

The aggressive tone during Trump’s speech in Phoenix marked a shift from the New York billionaire’s demeanor earlier in the day, when a much more measured Trump described Mexicans as “amazing people” as he appeared alongside Peña Nieto in Mexico’s capital city. It was his first meeting with a head of state as his party’s presidential nominee.

Shortly after the joint appearance, a dispute arose over the most contentious part of the billionaire’s plans to secure the U.S. southern border and fight illegal immigration — his insistence that Mexico must pay to build his promised wall.

Trump told reporters during the afternoon appearance that the two men didn’t discuss who would pay for a cost of construction pegged in the billions. Silent at that moment, Peña Nieto later tweeted, “At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall.”

Community activist Aaron Resendez said he’s extremely doubtful of Trump’s proposal.

“You’d have to be stupid to think he’s going to accomplish building a wall,” he said. “One thing is saying it, but to make the real thing happen is different.” With the meeting held behind closed doors, it was impossible to know who was telling the truth. But clash cast a cloud over Trump’s first meeting with a foreign dignitary and threatened to overshadow the evening address.

Trump supporters hailed the Republican candidate for his meeting with Mexico president Enrique Peña Nieto Wednesday.

“As a Mexican American, seeing Donald Trump and Pena Nieto, it brought a lot of positive emotions to me,” said Marco Gutierrez, co-founder of Latinos for Trump. “I think he showed he has international leadership.”

Mexicans, however, were outraged to learn that Trump had been invited to visit Mexico, and the news conference Wednesday struck many here as disappointing. After months of bearing the brunt of Trump’s attacks, Mexicans found Peña Nieto’s performance a letdown.

“He’s not going to convince anyone with his talk about building dialogue and bridges,” said Jose Antonio Crespo, a Mexico City political science professor. “If Trump wins, they’ll have to meet and work together, but for now, the annoyance and anger of the people about his speech prevails.”

“Trump benefited from this encounter,” he added. “The president failed, he lacked strength.”

Staff writer Tatiana sanchez and the Washigton Post contributed to this report.