--- description: Donald Trump in 2012 said Republicans should pass immigration reform if they wanted to win another election title: Donald Trump in 2012: GOP Must Pass Immigration Reform to Win Election image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump in 2012: GOP Must Pass Immigration Reform If It Wants to Win Another Election by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Nov 7, 2016 11:57 PM CUT by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Nov 7, 2016 11:57 PM CUT Donald Trump in 2012 said Republicans should pass immigration reform if they wanted to win another election. “Immigration is very important and the Republicans have to get involved,” Trump [said on _Fox & Friends_](https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/795758519022747649 "undefined") in Dec. 2012 in footage uncovered by [CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski](https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/795758519022747649 "undefined"). “Look, they’re never going to win another election unless they do something.” Trump appeared to be taking a different position than the one he has campaigned on since announcing his candidacy last June. Over the past year, Trump has [promised to build a wall](http://time.com/4509501/donald-trumps-border-wall/ "undefined") along the U.S. and Mexico border and advocated for [deporting undocumented immigrants](http://time.com/4460600/donald-trump-forced-deportation-campaign-manager/ "undefined") living in the U.S. Trump’s 2012 comments came after the Fox & Friends hosts asked whether immigration reform should be a top priority on President Obama’s agenda in 2013. “It is a top priority, and the Republicans ought to take the lead,” Trump said at the time. “They have to get smart. They cannot have what happened to them with immigration and other issues sabotage their elections.” > [](https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/795758519022747649) Donald Trump in 2012: GOP Should Lead on Immigration to Win ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4561900/donald-trump-immigration-2012/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4561900/donald-trump-immigration-2012/"},"headline":"Donald Trump in 2012: GOP Must Pass Immigration Reform If It Wants to Win Another Election","datePublished":"2016-11-07T23:57:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:41:11.224Z","description":"\"They're never going to win another election unless they do something\"","url":"https://time.com/4561900/donald-trump-immigration-2012/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4561900/donald-trump-immigration-2012/","name":"Donald Trump in 2012: GOP Must Pass Immigration Reform If It Wants to Win Another Election"}}]}] ```