The House GOP is teeing up a vote on H.R. 2, a hate group-backed bill filled to the brim with anti-asylum and anti-immigrant proposals — and Arizona Republican Juan Ciscomani stands to be a deciding vote in whether or not this odious and unworkable legislation advances.
Ciscomani has touted his personal history as an example of the American Dream. During his Spanish-language rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address this year, Ciscomani, a Mexican immigrant, shared that he’s twice sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution, The Arizona Republic reported. The first was when he became a U.S. citizen, and the second when he became a member of the U.S. Congress. But should he support this draconian legislation, he’d categorically deny asylum-seekers legally seeking protections their chance at the American Dream.
H.R. 2 is a nativist wish-list that offers no solutions to our nation’s broken immigration system, and instead proposes a slew of Trump-era proposals, including stripping unaccompanied minor children of critical protections. It’s unclear whether GOP leadership actually has the votes to pass this cruel agenda, but as part of their political theater, they’re staging a vote on May 11, the date that the Biden administration is scheduled to end Title 42.
This means all eyes are now on Ciscomani, who’s also among the Republicans that represent districts won by President Biden in the 2020 presidential election. If he’s truly solutions-focused, this bill isn’t it. Will he protect immigrants also in search of the American Dream – or continue to empower the rhetoric and legislation pushed by the most extreme members of his caucus?
