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 New York Republican Marc Molinaro stands to be a deciding vote in whether or not this odious and unworkable legislation advances.
In criticizing the Trump administration’s abhorrent family separation policy in 2018, then New York gubernatorial candidate Molinaro said it was “not America. It doesn’t reflect my own values to have parents leveraged against children and children leveraged against parents.” Molinaro went on to say it was “a consistent failure by the federal government that is unwilling to solve major issues with immigration.” But H.R. 2 does none of that.
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 Molinaro, 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 stand up to his party’s unworkable proposal -– or continue to empower the rhetoric and legislation pushed by the most extreme members of his caucus?
