Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to banish everybody convicted of gun crimes from Toronto, not just immigrants. "I don't care if you're white, pink, or purple, I don't care what country you're from, I don't care if you're a Canadian citizen or not. All I'm saying is, if you're caught with a gun and convicted of a gun crime, I want you out of this city," Ford said on NewsTalk 1010 Thursday night during an interview in which he struggled to explain himself.

Mayor Rob Ford visits the scene of the July 16 shooting on Danzig St. in Toronto on July 17, 2012. ( Aaron Vincent Elkaim / THE CANADIAN PRESS )

Ford said on AM640 on Wednesday that he would be asking the prime minister to look at "immigration laws" in finding a way to implement his exile proposal. Though federal immigration minister Jason Kenney said on Twitter that he agreed, the cryptic comment was generally received with a mix of anger and bewilderment. MORE: Immigration Minister Jason Kenney dismisses Mayor Rob Ford's banishment proposal Ford called in to the NewsTalk show hosted by John Downs and Ryan Doyle to address the criticism. He said he had spoken imprecisely in the Wednesday interview and had not meant to single out immigrants.

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The new interview, however, was itself perplexing, sounding at times like an Abbott and Costello routine about the federal government as Ford uncertainly attempted to explain to Downs why he mentioned immigration laws if he had not been referring to immigration. A partial transcript follows. (Click here to download the show's podcast. Ford calls in near the 25-minute mark.) MORE:Ford wants to use immigration laws against convicted gang members FORD: I want to clarify what John was saying. I have called the Prime Minister to find out if there's any laws with respect to the immigration and citizenship status in the city. So people are - I don't care if you're white, pink, or purple, I don't care what country you're from, I don't care if you're a Canadian citizen or not. All I'm saying is, if you're caught with a gun and convicted of a gun crime, I want you out of this city. And the portfolio for a cabinet minister is the Immigration and Citizenship. So I don't think the other half of my statement came out quite clearly. It has nothing to do, particularly, with immigration, you know, where you come from, which I think John was trying to say. All I want to do is get information, which I'm not an expert on, I'm sure nobody is right now, until we talk to the minister, and I can only get that information to the Prime Minister's Office. So I put a call in to the PMO to get that information. Maybe, you know, maybe we don't have a leg to stand on. But I'm gonna do everything in power to find out, you know, if we can get rid of these people when they get out of jail. I don't want 'em living in this city. So I just want to clarify: the same portfolio is called Immigration and Citizenship. It's not just Immigration. DOWNS: So what do you mean, though? Could you clarify in terms of the citizenship angle here? Are you suggesting that you want to revoke citizenship? Or what is it you're - FORD: No. Well maybe I'm - maybe you can clarify things, John, with me. When you have a status in a country, what portfolio does that fall under? Your address, your date of birth, your country of origin - I'm pretty sure it falls under Citizenship.

DOWNS: Well, if you're Canadian-born? FORD: Yeah, well, obviously - your status is obviously under "Canadian."

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DOWNS: Well, when would a Canadian citizen, like yourself, for example - you were born in this country - FORD: Right. DOWNS: When did you ever deal with Immigration and Citizenship? FORD: Well - any time. If you're having problems in another country, they try to look at your status. I'm saying - DOWNS: That's Foreign Affairs. FORD: Okay. Whoever it may be. That's what I'm saying: maybe I'm not an expert on the ministries. But all I'm saying is, if it's Foreign Affairs or if it's Immigration and Citizenship, I want to talk to the PMO and find out, if we can - maybe we can't - but I'm just trying to clarify that if you're caught with a gun and convicted of a gun crime, I do not want you living in the city anymore. And to find out that information you have to go through the PMO, and that's what I'm doing. I'm not an expert in this but I am trying to resolve the issue that's