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 Texas Republican Tony Gonzales stands to be a deciding vote in whether or not this odious and unworkable legislation advances.
Gonzales has gotten a lot of press attention by vocally opposing his party on anti-immigrant proposals, this year challenging fellow Republican Chip Roy on an anti-asylum proposal that would even block unaccompanied migrant children from seeking protections. Gonzales slammed the proposal as “not Christian” and “anti-American.” He went even further in a tweet, adding that “Anyone who thinks a 3 page anti-immigration bill with 0% chance of getting signed into law is going to solve the border crisis should be buying beach front property in AZ.”
But H.R. 2 isn’t going to do anything to address the challenges at the border or the broken legal immigration system, either. It’s instead a nativist wish-list that offers no solutions to our nation’s broken immigration system, and 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 Gonzales. “I’m not this crazy, extremist Republican,” he said earlier this year. “I’m jumping up and down, pushing against my party when I think it’s right, looking for ways to solve problems.” 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?
