Johnson says price tag on Trump mass deportation plan is 'small investment' to 'restore' security, safety

"I cannot think of a better dollar for dollar investment than to restore the security and the safety of the country," Johnson said. "We've had a wide-open border for four years and millions upon millions of illegal persons. We have dangerous illegals in the country, criminals who have already committed crimes here, violent crimes against American citizens."

When asked whether the plan would come with a price tag in the trillions of dollars, Johnson rejected the notion.

"It won't cost trillions of dollars. I think we don't yet know the dollar figure," he said. "But I will tell you that the American people are going to support that effort. And we're going to begin with the most dangerous elements. And you're going to see a dramatic change in the country because of it."

Johnson did not provide an estimated cost for the deportation plan.

Johnson said that Congress and the Trump administration will "turn the economic engines back on" like during the first Trump term when lawmakers "reduced the tax burden on the American people, but even more importantly, the regulatory burden."

"That's going to be a major theme of the upcoming administration in this Congress, because if you release the red tape, you unleash the free market again. And that's good for everybody," he said.