The shocking momentum behind Donald Trump's 2016 presidential run can largely be attributed to his brash bravado and inflammatory language, which his supporters claim is his way of "telling it like it is." His campaign has also been heavily fueled by fear mongering and his hard line anti-immigrant policy proposals.

However, now that the Republican front-runner is closer to winning the GOP nomination, he seems to be softening his anti-immigration stance.

Trump on H1-B Visas

Last August, the billionaire businessman was adamant about shutting down the U.S. H1-B visas program, which allows highly skilled workers like scientists and engineers to enter the country. According to him, the program was being abused by foreign workers who took jobs away from American citizens. He also said the "disastrous" program had "destroyed our middle class."

However, during last Thursday's GOP debate hosted by Fox News, Trump changed his tune when asked about H1-B visas. When questioned by Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, he seemed to support the controversial pro-immigration program.

"I'm changing. We need highly skilled people in this country, and if we can't do it, we'll get them in. But, and we do need in Silicon Valley, we absolutely have to have," he said.

"I'm softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country," he continued. "We absolutely have to keep the brain power in this country."

After supporters expressed shock at the candidate's new stance, the Trump campaign issued a statement hours after the debate reverting to his initial position and promising to end the use of visas.

"I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse," the statement read, "[and to] end forever the use of H-1B as a cheap labor program."

Trump's Flip on Immigration

Trump's flip flop on the issue could be read as a sign that he is trying to broaden his appeal to a larger electorate of voters as he moves forward in the 2016 election. Although his remarks have helped his campaign gain traction with conservative voters in the primary race, his stance may not fly with more moderate voters who value diversity and the contributions of immigrants.

Trump: "Everything Is Negotiable"

The TV personality also showed signs that he was stepping away from his hostile immigration reform proposals last week when he admitted that his immigration views are, in fact, very flexible. During an interview with Fox News on Monday, he said that "everything is negotiable" when it comes to immigration. He also confirmed that his infamous plan to build a multibillion dollar wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is negotiable.

"Everything, by the way, is negotiable. Things are negotiable. I'll be honest with you, you know I make the wall two feet shorter or something. I mean everything is negotiable," Trump said. He then clarified that "building it [the wall]," however, is not negotiable.

The reality star also suggested he would give some leeway on his plan to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. as well.

"I would say this: I've always said we have some good people over here. They are going to go out. But we will work out some system that is fair. But we either have a country or we don't. We need a border. We need a wall," Trump said. "There's always got to be some negotiation."

Related