At Tuesday night's vice presidential debate, Mike Pence debated Tim Kaine on the Trump immigration plan: "The reality is there is heartbreak and tragedy that has struck American families, because people that came into this country illegally are now involved in criminal enterprise and activity, and we don’t have the enterprise or the will to deport them systematically."





MIKE PENCE: We have a deportation force. It is called Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. For the first time in their history, their union endorsed Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States.



TIM KAINE: You like the 16 million deportation?



PENCE: Senator, that is nonsense. They have a plan for open borders, amnesty.



KAINE: Our plan is like Ronald Reagan's plan from 1986.



PENCE: They call it 'comprehensive immigration reform' on Capitol Hill. We know the routine. It is amnesty. You heard one of the last things he mentioned is border security. That is how Washington always plays it.



MODERATOR: Senator—



KAINE: Governor Pence was against it.



PENCE: Ronald Reagan said a nation without borders is not a nation. Donald Trump is committed to restoring the borders of this nation.



MODERATOR: How would these millions of undocumented immigrants leave? Would they be forcibly removed?



PENCE: It begins with border security. After we secure the border, not only build a wall, but beneath the ground and in the air, we do internal enforcement. The focus has to be on criminal aliens. We just had a conversation about law enforcement, a conversation about the violence that is the setting our cities. The reality is, there is heartbreaking tragedy that has struck American families because people who came into this country illegally are now involved in criminal and reprise and activity, and we do not have the resources or the will to deport them systematically.



Donald Trump said we are going to move those people out. People have overstayed their visas. We are going to enforce the law of this country and strengthen immigration and customs enforcement with more resources and personnel to be able to do that, and then Donald Trump has made it clear. Once we have done all of those things, then we are going to reform the immigration system that we have in this country.



KAINE: I have to —



PENCE: That is the order you should do it. Border security, removing criminal aliens, upholding the law, and then, senator, I will work with you.