Members of the House Freedom Caucus assailed the Dignity Act, introduced by Congresswoman Maria Salazar as a mass amnesty bill for millions of illegal aliens.
38 other members joined Congresswoman Salazar in sponsoring the Dignity Act.
Salazar claimed the bill would weed out criminal illegal aliens and grant legal status to illegal aliens who lived in the United States for more than five years.
Conservatives inside the House Freedom Caucus rejected that premise.
Texas Congressman Chip Roy argued the Dignity Act betrayed the government’s duty to put American citizens first and undercut the rule of law.
“The so-called Dignity Act isn’t about dignity—it’s about eroding accountability,” Roy said to the Daily Caller. “It rewards illegal immigration with sweeping amnesty for millions of lawbreakers while pushing aside the basic duty to put Americans first. A nation that won’t enforce its own laws isn’t compassionate, it’s neglecting its responsibility to its own citizens.”
South Carolina Congress Ralph Norman contended that the Dignity Act undercut President Trump’s success in closing the border and promise of mass deportations.
“The Dignity Act is mass amnesty by another name,” Norman told the Daily Caller. “Conservatives are right to stand firm with President Trump’s agenda of securing the border and enforcing the law first.”
President Trump won the 2024 election on promise to end Joe Biden opening the border to millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States.
Representative Mary Miller expressed her belief that the Dignity Act would alienate voters who thought they were voting Republican in the belief it would result in a secure border and close down any attempt to grant citizenship to illegal aliens.
“The ‘Dignidad Act’ is an insult to the American people and the mandate they delivered to enforce our immigration laws and deport those who violate them,” Miller said in an interview the Dailu Caller.
Miller remarked that illegal aliens drained taxpayer benefits and threatened public safety.
As a result, Miller pledged to lead opposition to the Dignity Act should it ever come to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Americans are fed up with footing the bill while watching their communities strained, and in far too many tragic cases, grieving loved ones lost as a result of unchecked mass migration. I will stand firmly with them and oppose any attempt to advance this legislation that seeks mass amnesty,” Miller added.
The House Freedom Caucus blocked previous attempts at legalizing illegal aliens.
Congress last tried to pass a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens in 2013.
That effort eventually collapsed after Dave Brat, who joined the Freedom Caucus, defeated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary challenge.
