Christie: We Don’t Have Enough Law Enforcement to ‘Forcibly’ Deport 11 Million Illegals

TAPPER: “In an interview this week with CNN's Dana Bash, Mr. Trump called for deporting all 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, and then letting what he called the good ones come back through an expedited process. What should be done about the 11 million or so that are already here?”

CHRISTIE: “Listen, first off, I have had seven years in law enforcement as the U.S. attorney. There are not enough law enforcement officers, local -- local, county, state, and federal combined, to forcibly deport 11 to 12 million people. I mean, and this is like building a 2,000-mile wall across the border that Mexico is going to pay for. It sounds really good. You pound your chest, but then the question is, how? How are you going to do it? I think the way to do this is E-Verify. If folks knew that they weren't going to get jobs, they would not come.”

TAPPER: “Well, what would -- what would you do with the 11 million who are here?”

CHRISTIE: “Well, listen, the folks that are here now, we're going to have to come to a solution on that that's going to involve using E-Verify as well.”

TAPPER: “Some sort of legal status, though?”

CHRISTIE: “Well, I don't know. We're going to have to see, Jake. We're going to have to see. But, first, we're going to have to convince the American people that we can actually control the border. And they have to come to the conclusion I have come to, that these folks are not going to self-deport, and that we don't have enough law enforcement officers to be able to forcibly deport 11 million people, and then we need to come to a commonsense solution on it.”

TAPPER: “You will grant me that this is a specific you're not willing to offer, though, even though you're –“

CHRISTIE: “Oh, not yet, but I will.”

TAPPER: “You will?”

CHRISTIE: “Yes.”

TAPPER: “At what point?”

CHRISTIE: “Campaign's not over yet.

TAPPER: “OK. At some point --“

CHRISTIE: “It's the next thing I'm working on.”