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 Florida Republican María Elvira Salazar stands to be a deciding vote in whether or not this odious and unworkable legislation advances.
Salazar last year introduced an immigration bill that she pitched as “The Dignity Act.” The bill, her office said, offered a “reasonable and compassionate approach” to issues plaguing our current immigration system. She got some good press out of it, but a closer look revealed that it contained a provision that made accessing the pathway to citizenship within the bill just about impossible. Still, “The Dignity Act” was dead on arrival anyway, following McCarthy’s vow to never let “amnesty” bills get a vote. What is getting a vote is H.R. 2. Now that Salazar’s vote matters, where does she stand?
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 Salazar. If she’s truly solutions-focused, this bill isn’t it. Will she stand up to her party’s unworkable proposal — or continue to empower the rhetoric and legislation pushed by the most extreme members of her caucus?
