Illegal immigration foe: Trump shift the ‘death knell of his candidacy’

One staunch opponent of illegal immigration says GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s shifting stance on the issue will doom his campaign.

“Whatever remaining chance he had to win the White House is gone,” Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Wall Street Journal.

{mosads}”The fact now that he has betrayed his base on the signature issue that he ran on seems to me the death knell of his candidacy as a practical matter,” he added.

Krikorian, who said he attended a meeting with Trump and others recently focused on foreign policy, blamed Trump’s new advisers for his change in rhetoric.

Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator and proponent of stricter immigration proposals, has also criticized Trump’s shift in recent days.

In an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity” Thursday night, Coulter mocked Trump saying that his administration would force illegal immigrants to pay “back taxes.”

“I don’t think he should have been hiring Rubio’s speechwriter for his interview with you, giving all these ridiculous talking points for amnesty,” she told Sean Hannity, referring to one of Trump’s primary rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

Coulter remarked that Trump has “said some very dumb things” on immigration this week. “Oh well,” she said, indicating, “He’s my guy, but I give him constructive criticism.”

Trump supporter Sarah Palin also slammed the businessman’s shift on immigration during interviews with The Wall Street Journal and Fox News on Thursday.

Trump said Thursday on CNN that he may still deport the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally, days after suggesting he may be open to allowing those who haven’t committed crimes to stay with conditions.