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Some of Donald Trump's Hispanic backers distanced themselves from the Republican nominee on Thursday for standing by a hardline approach to illegal immigration in a key speech after indicating for weeks that he may soften his approach.
Trump tried to clarify confusion about immigration, his signature policy issue, in a speech on Wednesday. He said the only way undocumented foreigners could live in the United States legally if he is elected on Nov. 8 would be to leave the country and apply for re-entry.
But the businessman, trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in opinion polls, did back away from earlier promises to deport immediately the 11 million immigrants in the United States illegally and said he would prioritize those with criminal records.
While polls show a large majority of Hispanic voters oppose Trump, the withdrawal of support from among his small group of Latino backers underscores how difficult it is for Trump to broaden his support with minorities and moderate voters.
Alfonso Aguilar, who recently organized a support letter on behalf of Trump, said he felt "disappointed and misled" by the fiery speech and withdrew his backing.
"For the last two months he said he was not going to deport people without criminal records. He actually said that he was going to treat undocumented immigrants without criminal records in a humane and compassionate way," Aguilar told CNN. He is the president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles group.
Trump used his Wednesday appearance in Phoenix to clarify his stance on illegal immigration. But instead of moderating his message as many expected, Trump returned to the hardline rhetoric that powered him to victory in the Republican presidential nomination race over 16 rivals, heartening conservatives drawn to Trump by the issue.
Some members of a council Trump formed last month to advise him on Hispanic issues expressed reservations about or cut ties to the New York real estate developer's candidacy after the Phoenix speech.
Jacob Monty, a Texas attorney and member of the group, said he was withdrawing his support and would not vote in the election.
"There was nothing pro-business in that speech," Monty told MSNBC. "We were hoping for some glimmer of the Donald Trump that we met with a week and half ago, but it never came."
