Washington, DC — Three immigration storylines are intersecting, forcing a small number of House Republicans toward a defining – and revealing – choice.
- House to vote on budget resolution to fund mass deportation through rest of Trump’s term: The Senate passed a budget resolution this week that not only funds ICE/CBP without any accountability and reforms for this year, but also fully funds the agencies for the remainder of the Trump administration. Of course, this is on top of the unprecedented windfall of more than $170 billion for immigration enforcement and mass deportation already enacted via the BBB. The budget resolution now moves to the House of Representatives for upcoming votes.
- Dignity Act House Republicans won’t be able to have it both ways: House Republicans are publicly squabbling over immigration and, especially, the Dignity Act. The Republican backers of the Dignity Act, who are on the record proposing reforms that include a path to citizenship for Dreamers and a path to legality for long-established undocumented immigrants, should clearly be against a budget resolution that would fund the targeting and deportation of many of these same long-settled, deeply rooted immigrants (especially in light of the administration’s official embrace of a “one million deportations per year” quota). Yet many of these same House GOPers are complicit in the first vote to fund mass deportation via the BBB. Will these Members hold strong against ICE and CBP funding to target the populations they say they want to support?
- Reuters/Ipsos polling underscores the political stakes and unpopularity of mass deportation: Reuters titled its poll summary article, “Trump’s Deportation Push Could Cost Republicans in Midterm,” capturing the key takeaway from the more than 4,500 sample national poll released this week. Key findings included: by a 52-42% margin, Americans said they were less likely to support a candidate who backs Trump’s approach to deportations versus more likely. The poll also found overwhelming support for balanced immigration solutions, including a path to legal status, with 76% of respondents in the poll saying unauthorized migrants who have jobs and no criminal record should have a way to gain legal status.”
As Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice noted:
“No more hiding, no more waffling. It’s time to choose for House Republicans. A few House GOP members say they want to counter the destructive Trump-Miller mass deportation campaign and support long-settled immigrant community members through legislation like the Dignity Act.
We strongly support reform to our out of control immigration system, but here’s the problem: GOP members can’t have it both ways. Those supporting a moderate approach have already voted in lock-step with Trump to turbo-charge huge spending, extensive violence and lawlessness, armed and masked agents and violations of our constitutional rights, to name just some of the damage. Thank
Voters overwhelmingly reject this extreme approach and no amount of talking out of both sides of their mouths will change the public’s view of their duplicity. They have a chance to stop this juggernaut and block the proposed funding for mass deportation with no constraints, and instead to insist on real reforms and accountability – or face the voters with the destruction they have voted for. Their country, and their constituents, are watching.”
