Amnesty for illegal immigrants is a very real possibility right now, because a small band of renegade House Republicans might cross party lines to work with Democrats to seize control of the floor via a discharge petition and pass a bill over the objections of the House GOP leadership and the vast majority of the House GOP Conference.
If amnesty were to be enacted that way, congressional Republicans would be as guilty of a betrayal of their grassroots as they were when they utterly failed in 2017 to repeal Obamacare. And the electoral outcome at the next election would likely be the same as was the outcome of the elections that followed their failure to repeal Obamacare — a GOP wipeout.
How is this even possible?
CORNYN WANTS TO WORK WITH TRUMP TO FIX ‘BROKEN’ IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IF REELECTED
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) introduced H.R. 4393, the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025 last July with 21 bipartisan cosponsors. The list grew over the next several months. Counting Salazar herself, there are now 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats cosponsoring the bill.
Salazar says: “For 40 years, Washington has failed to fix our broken immigration system, and that is unacceptable. The Dignity Act is a serious, balanced solution: no amnesty, no path to citizenship, but a legal status for those who have worked, paid taxes, and contributed to our economy.“
Unfortunately, the Congresswoman is not telling the truth about her bill. She says there is “no amnesty, no path to citizenship,” but there is.
Sections 2102-2104 of her bill grant amnesty with a direct path to citizenship for an estimated 2.5 million “DREAMers.” (That’s not surprising, given that this section of the bill is titled “DREAM ACT.”)
Further, Sections 2301-2305 grant amnesty without a direct path to citizenship for a larger group of an estimated 10.5 million illegal immigrants who arrived here before 2021. The bill includes a two-year deportation freeze for anyone deemed prima facie eligible.
In Sections 3111-3113, titled “American Families United,” the attorney general is empowered to grant amnesty to the illegal immigrant spouses or children of U.S. citizens.
These are just some examples of amnesty found in the text. There are others.
Granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants is not what Trump voters wanted when they voted for him and his GOP ticket mates in 2024.
It’s not what they want in 2026, either.
A recent survey conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the Immigration Accountability Project shows public sentiment strongly opposes such legislation. Among a group of 2,000 likely voters polled at the beginning of March, reads the survey summary, “the result showed overwhelming support for a broad range of deportation strategies, including strong support from Hispanic voters.”
For instance, among the survey respondents, 66% support deporting illegal immigrants who crossed the border illegally. Among Hispanic voters, that number is 59%.
Sixty-six percent support deporting the 1.6 million illegal immigrants who have final orders of deportation from an immigration judge. Among Hispanic voters, that number is 57%.
Sixty-five percent support deporting foreigners who overstayed their visas. Among Hispanic voters, that number is 55%.
The poll showed that the coalition that elected President Donald Trump in 2024 is counting on him and congressional Republicans to follow through on their campaign promises: 82% of Trump voters “said his promise to conduct the largest mass deportation operation in American history made them more likely to vote for him,” and 74% of Trump voters “said they’ll be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate in the 2026 midterm elections if the Trump administration deports more than 1 million illegal aliens this year.”
Here’s how that translates politically — the voters in the Trump/GOP base oppose amnesty, and they’ll be, in the words of the pollsters, “less likely” to support Republican candidates who vote for amnesty for the illegal immigrants Trump/GOP base voters want to see deported.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S IMMIGRATION ENDGAME IS STILL AMNESTY
The Republican advantage in the House is already razor thin. Giving base voters not merely no reason to come out but, worse, an active reason to stay home, would be politically catastrophic.
Were Salazar and her renegade GOP colleagues to cross party lines to work with Democrats to maneuver an amnesty bill through the House over the objections of the House GOP leadership and their GOP colleagues, that would virtually guarantee that the next leadership fight among House Republicans is the contest for Minority Leader.
Jenny Beth Martin is Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.