For Donald Trump, a day of political whiplash on immigration

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — For weeks, Donald Trump flirted with a self-described "softening" of the hard-line immigration policies that propelled him to the Republican nomination, raising the hopes of party officials, some Hispanic leaders and skeptical voters unnerved by his presidential candidacy.

Against the backdrop of grand diplomatic pageantry, Trump lavished praise on America's southern neighbor and pointedly avoided insisting publicly that Mexico pay for the wall he's pledged to build along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"There will be no legal status or becoming a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country," Trump declared, even has he sidestepped the dilemma about what to do with those who might stay in the country anyway — failing to address the major question that has frustrated past congressional attempts at remaking the nation's immigration laws.

While polls have tightened nationally and in some key battleground states, Clinton has a massive advantage over Trump in what it takes to turn votes out in key swing states.

Voters now have an image of Trump in a presidential setting, standing side-by-side with a world leader behind a lectern, listening patiently to a translator relay his counterpart's remarks.

Trump raged against what he called President Barack Obama and Clinton's "open borders" policy, accusing the Democrats of caring more about immigrants living in the U.S. illegally than American citizens.