MAGA lawmakers at each other's throats over bipartisan reform plan
A bipartisan immigration reform bill gaining House sponsors has pitted some MAGA lawmakers against each other in open warfare.
The DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act, sponsored by Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), contains a balanced package of immigration priorities for both parties, toughening up border security and requiring all employers use the E-Verify system to screen workers for legal status, while also creating a pathway to legal residency, protections for "Dreamers," higher visa caps, and legal counsel and mental health care for detainees in border processing facilities.
Salazar is one of the most outspoken Trump supporters to represent a heavily Hispanic congressional district — but she has found herself at odds with some other pro-Trump lawmakers for her sponsorship of the Dignity Act.
"The Dignity Act is mass amnesty and would constitute a terrible betrayal of our voters," far-right Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) posted to X on Tuesday.
Salazar fiercely hit back in response.
"READ. THE. BILL. BEFORE. YOU. OPEN. YOUR. MOUTH," wrote Salazar. "Calling the DIGNITY Act 'amnesty' isn’t just wrong. It’s a deliberate distortion and it exposes just how little you know about the bill."
"This is enforcement first: zero tolerance for criminals, permanent border security, and hard, earned requirements to step forward and face the law, so American workers are protected, not undercut," she continued. "Amnesty is the chaos you’ve defended, millions in the shadows, no control, no accountability, and a system that stopped working a long time ago. No shortcuts. No giveaways. No blanket forgiveness. That’s law and order. That’s DIGNITY."
This comes as Salazar has increasingly been warning Trump that recent election results showing the GOP hemorrhaging Latino voters are only going to get worse if the party doesn't find a way to moderate from the administration's mass deportation policies.