Sarah Palin says Donald Trump's immigration reversal is 'massive disappointment'

Mr Trump has received criticism from prominent conservatives, such as Ms Palin, for saying he would 'soften' his stance on immigration

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Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has warned Donald Trump of “massive disappointment” if he does not follow through with his promise to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the US.

Mr Trump launched his campaign with a hardline stance on immigration – with particular focus on undocumented Mexicans – and has called for mass deportations throughout his campaign.

But he recently walked back his stance and has suggested a “softening” in his immigration position in a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity. Mr Trump proposed that “the good ones” – law-abiding undocumented immigrants – can stay in the US if they “pay back-taxes”.

“If Mr Trump were to go down a path of wishy-washy positions taken on things that the core foundation of his support has so appreciated, and that is respecting our Constitution and respecting law and order in America, then yeah, there would be massive disappointment,” Ms Palin told the Wall Street Journal on Friday.

She added: “Parts of that message we heard in the last week are clearly not consistent with the stringent position and message that supporters have received all along.”

Ms Palin said that the merit of undocumented immigrants should not be whether or not they are a “good person or a bad person, but how sustainable it is to incentivize illegal immigrants to come over our borders”.

Ms Palin rose to prominence among Tea Party conservatives after her vice presidential run in 2008. After her resignation from the Alaska governorship the following year, Ms Palin has become the de facto voice of so-called “political outsiders”, with a reality show and a position as commentator on Fox News. She was one of the first prominent Republicans to endorse the New York City real estate tycoon.

In the past week, Mr Trump has appeared to soften some of his rhetoric on immigration to the dismay of some of his most vocal anti-immigrant supporters.

Right-wing author Ann Coulter, who just published her latest book In Trump We Trust, took offence to Mr Trump’s shift on immigration.

“It sounds as if some campaign consultant has slipped into his campaign,” she told Mr Hannity on Thursday, “and 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."