Jorge Ramos, the Miami-based anchor for Univision, stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal, which includes ending automatic citizenship for infants born in the United States to parents in the country illegally.
As Ramos began to speak, Trump interrupted him, saying he hadn't called on Ramos before repeatedly telling him to "sit down" and then saying, "Go back to Univision."
As one of Trump's security detail approached Ramos, the anchor continued to speak, saying, "You cannot deport 11 million people." Ramos was referring to Trump's proposal to deport all people in the country illegally before allowing some of them to return.
The billionaire businessman's immigration proposal has sparked intense debate within the 2016 Republican field. Several candidates, including former Gov Jeb Bush, have called it "unrealistic," and Wisconsin Gov Scott Walker bobbled his answer on whether he supports ending birthright citizenship.
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Ramos was later allowed back into the news conference. Trump greeted him politely, though they quickly resumed their argument, interrupting each other during an extended back-and-forth.
"Why do you say that?" Trump replied. "Some of the great legal scholars agree that's not true."
During the five-minute exchange, Ramos claimed that 40 percent of people in the country illegally enter through airports, not over the Mexican border. "I don't believe that. I don't believe it," Trump responded.
A 2006 report by the Pew Hispanic Center found that as much as 45 per cent of the people in the US illegally entered with legal visas but overstayed them.