Days after appearing to soften his stance on immigration reform, Donald Trump is now boasting of creating a tracking system he will use to keep tabs on immigrants residing here in the U.S.

Speaking to supporters in the critical, battleground of Iowa, Trump recently unveiled plans for what he calls an "entry-exit" program, which would track those who overstay their visas.

The Republican presidential nominee also doubled down on his hard-line vow to build a wall along the Mexican border to further keep immigrants out and pledged to make it virtually impossible for illegal immigrants to receive welfare benefits while making their home in America.

Trump Stands by vow to Build Wall

"I am going to build a great border wall, institute nationwide e-verify, stop illegal immigrants from accessing welfare and entitlements, and develop an exit-entry tracking system to ensure those who overstay their visas are quickly removed," said Trump. "If we don't enforce visa expiration dates, then we have an open border - it's as simple as that.

From the launch of his campaign, where he derided Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "criminals," Trump has made immigration a central tenement of his platform, including vowing to deport as many as 11 million immigrants if he is elected as President Obama's successor later this fall.

In his Iowa speech, Trump went on to insist illegal immigration is a vice that prevents other Americans from being able to find gainful employment and make lives for themselves.

"Every time an African-American citizen, or any citizen, loses their job to an illegal immigrant, the rights of that American citizen have been violated," he said. "Equal protection under the law must include the consistent application of our immigration laws."

Trump Calls Deportation First Priority

Trump added, should he ascend to the White House, his first priority would be the immediate deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants who remain in the United States despite having criminal histories.

Without offering any details about his plan or how he plans to make certain legal immigrants are not affected, Trump boomed, "these international gangs and cartels will be a thing of the past. Their reign of terror will be over."

Trump insisted his style of governance will always err on the side of caution.

"In this task, we will always err on the side of protecting the American people - we will use immigration law to prevent crimes, and will not wait until some innocent American has been harmed or killed before taking action," he said.

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