In Austin, Trump doubles down on border wall But the GOP candidate is 'softening' on deportations

Robert Morrow, Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party (left) exchanges words with a woman entering the Moody Theater for a taping of a town hall with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Fox News in Austin on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. Demonstrators from the Texas Democratic Party along with other individuals chanted at Trump supporters as they filed their way into the theater. Along with the town hall meeting, Trump made an appearance for a fundraiser and rally in the Austin area. less Robert Morrow, Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party (left) exchanges words with a woman entering the Moody Theater for a taping of a town hall with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and ... more Photo: Kin Man Hui/ San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kin Man Hui/ San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close In Austin, Trump doubles down on border wall 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN – Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, in the first public event of his one-day swing through Texas, brushed off speculation that he might scale back his signature policy to build a physical wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and ramp up deportations of immigrants in the country illegally.

IN AUSTIN: Trump speaks out on immigration, Clinton

“We’re going to build a wall. Yeah, 100 percent. It’s so simple,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity inside a nearly packed Moody Theater in downtown Austin. “Bush and even Obama sent people back so we can be more aggressive with that, but we can follow the laws.”

He said repeatedly that he would “follow the laws” in designing a process to deport undocumented immigrants “who shouldn’t be here,” though he never specified in the hour-long interview how he would go about doing it.

“There can certainly be softening,” he told Hannity when asked how he would handle undocumented immigrants who have no criminal record beyond arriving in the United States without authorization.

In response, a smattering of audience members began urging Trump not to walk back his high-profile statements promising deportations. Speculation has abounded recently that, in a meeting with Hispanic leaders this month, Trump expressed some willingness to support a pathway to legalization for immigrants – a claim refuted by his campaign, surrogates and the Republican National Committee.

“Don’t back down, Donald,” one man chanted.

Trump, who rocketed to the top of the GOP field on his pledge to deport immigrants, long has declined to give details about his plans on the issue. He was slated to give a closely watched speech on immigration in Colorado on Thursday, but the event was canceled earlier this week.

Back in Austin, Trump shared the stage with six mothers whose children were killed in brutal encounters with undocumented immigrants, some of whom were previously deported from the United States and returned.

“You saved my life the day you announced you were running,” one mother told Trump. “I wanted out. I walked past the TV and I heard Mr. Trump talking about illegal immigrants… I said, finally someone is listening to us.”

Hannity also turned to bipartisan criticism leveled at Trump in recent weeks after the Republican nominee found himself in public spats with a Gold Star family and cable talk show hosts. Trump said he is focused on defeating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, but he could not promise to direct his ire at her alone in the coming months.

“I have to be who I am,” he said, before leaving to a big-dollar fundraiser in Austin. “I win. I win in life. I have a very winning temperament.”

The Trump interview will air over two nights, beginning Tuesday, during Hannity's primetime show on Fox.