Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) is once again under fire from conservatives after using a Fox News appearance to promote her controversial immigration proposal, which critics argue amounts to amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
During the interview, Salazar insisted the country needs to “have that national conversation” about the future of undocumented immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for years.
“I believe that after the border has been sealed… the moment now is to have that national conversation and determine who are we going to be targeting,” Salazar said. “Now there is another mass of people—who most of them are Hispanics—who have been here for more than five years. They have been contributing to the economy, who do not have a criminal record… and for that reason, I’m introducing today… immigration reform.”
Salazar insists her plan “is not amnesty,” but critics remain unconvinced. The Dignity Act—co-sponsored with Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX)—would grant a pathway to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants, prompting comparisons to the 1986 Reagan-era amnesty that many Republicans have since come to oppose.
The proposal features a 10-year “Dignity Program” that would require undocumented immigrants to pay restitution, stay employed, and maintain a clean criminal record to remain in the U.S. It also includes provisions to strengthen border security, allocating $150 billion for Border Patrol staffing and advanced enforcement technology.
But that hasn’t quelled conservative opposition. Critics argue the bill abandons Trump-era immigration policies and rewards individuals who entered the country illegally.
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Salazar, branding herself a “compassionate conservative,” defends the proposal as both pragmatic and ethical. She argues it provides a realistic solution for long-term undocumented immigrants who are already embedded in the U.S. economy and unlikely to face mass deportation.
Trump made border enforcement a signature issue of his presidency, cracking down on illegal crossings and building physical barriers.
“Arrests in immigration courts, including people with I-220A and pending asylum cases, the termination of the CHNV (Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan) program, which has left thousands exposed to deportation, and other similar measures, all jeopardize our duty to due process that every democracy must guarantee,” Salazar said in a statement last month.