An immigration reform proposal from Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) triggered a social media eruption this week, as many Republicans are pushing back against the proposal they view as too soft on the issue.
The “DIGNIDAD Act,” which is co-sponsored by 39 Republicans and Democrats, would provide legal status without a way to get citizenship for those in the country illegally before 2021 for a renewable seven-year period for individuals who are working, offer “protection” for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and codifies certain elements of border security law.
The bill was introduced in July 2025, with little movement in Congress since then, according to the congressional website. However, Salazar and other lawmakers are doing a “Dignity Tour” to make the case for the legislation, she announced last month.
Salazar has said that the legislation is not a form of amnesty, whereas other members of her caucus have argued otherwise.
“The DIGNITY Act removes ALL criminal illegal aliens and recent arrivals, and it shuts down future illegal immigration once and for all,” Salazar posted to X on Tuesday, arguing that there would be economic issues created by mass deportations of “long-time, contributing immigrants.”
“But here’s the truth: most Americans do NOT support deporting every long-term immigrant who has spent years working here, contributing to our economy, who have American kids and are part of our communities,” she added.
The thread posted by the Florida lawmaker was in response to comments from Rep. Brandon Gill, who said that the proposal is “rank amnesty and everybody knows it.”
“I want dignity for Americans — the people whose interests we represent — not illegal aliens. That means doing what we said we’d do: mass deportations,” he added. The various posts from Gill, Salazar, and others have gone viral, leading to a major discourse on X over the policies outlined in the bill.
He told The Daily Wire’s “Wired In Live” that the proposal “effectively stops the president from carrying out his deportation agenda,” adding that it is “a massive betrayal of everything Republicans ran on last election cycle.”
Republicans heavily campaigned on immigration and border security in the last election, with President Donald Trump’s campaign even touting signs with the slogan “Mass Deportation Now.”
Another clip of Salazar resurfaced on social media this week from a July 2025 interview with WPLG Local 10 News.
“At some point in the future, another legislator will write another law to give them a path to citizenship. Right now, what we need to do is buy peace for these people, allow them to stay,” she said in the interview.
Salazar’s South Florida district has a high immigrant population, and she and many other backers of the bill represent swing districts, according to the Cook Political Report.
Thirteen percent of likely voters said that immigration is the main issue facing the United States, as of March, according to an Emerson College poll of likely voters. As one of the highest rated issues behind the economy and “threats to democracy” in the survey, it will likely be a key point of contention on the campaign trail.
