Miami Republican has ‘simple’ plan to stop mass deportations. Trump should listen | Opinion

If there’s a silver lining in President Donald Trump’s extreme immigration agenda, it is that it has highlighted the nation’s broken and outdated immigration system. The best hope for stopping the indiscriminate deportation of migrants is through immigration reform, which hasn’t happened in a comprehensive manner in almost 40 years.

Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar has shown the political will to start getting that done with a bipartisan bill she’s filing Tuesday called the Dignity Act. It would provide legal status to undocumented migrants who meet certain requirements, have no criminal record, pay restitution and give 1% of their earnings to the U.S. government.

Other House Republicans should pay attention. Getting rid of undocumented migrants may please the president’s base, but it’s also likely to seriously hurt employers who rely on these workers, in particular in industries like agriculture and hospitality. That’s especially true when you consider that 71.7% of the people detained by ICE since the beginning of Trump’s second term had no criminal convictions, according to federal data reviewed by the Associated Press.

Salazar is touting her immigration reform bill as a “simple” and pragmatic solution to the nation’s immigration issues. Undocumented migrants “have been with us for many years and they are needed in the economy,” Salazar told the Herald Editorial Board Monday.

“I think that Donald Trump has hinted that something is needed [on immigration reform], and I think that the moment has come when he can show the world that he could be for immigration what Reagan was for communism,” Salazar said.

Salazar’s bill is a good start, but, so far, the Republican-controlled Congress has shown no any appetite to pass immigration reform — or even to question the lack of due process in some deportations. She’s adamant that her legislation does not provide “amnesty” to undocumented migrants because they would have no pathway to citizenship under the bill. But immigration hardliners who have the ear of the president will probably interpret any policy that offers a chance to these migrants as such. As for Democrats, many would probably have an issue with financially penalizing people who contribute to the economy despite their undocumented status.

Salazar filed a different version of the Dignity Act before and it didn’t go anywhere, but with polls showing that voters are souring on Trump’s immigration policies, her legislation should be at least a conversation starter.

Salazar is introducing her 250-page bill with Democratic U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and there are about 18 to 20 other co-sponsors from both parties, she said.

The legislation covers a large range of immigration-related issues, from border security to reforms to the U.S. asylum system. Most notably, it creates a “Dignity Program” available to undocumented migrants here since before Dec. 31, 2020, who don’t have criminal records.

They would get legal status and work authorization for seven years, which could be renewed indefinitely, if they pay $7,000 in restitution ($1,000 per year), contribute 1% of their income for those seven years, remain in good standing and check regularly with the Department of Homeland Security. They would also be allowed to travel outside the country but they would not be eligible for any federal government benefits. The restitution proceeds would be split between the U.S treasury and a program to educate or retrain American workers.

“It’s simple: Come out of the shadows, keep on working, pay taxes, go home for Christmas, join a union,” Salazar said.

Dreamers — people brought to the country illegally when they were children — would have a pathway to citizenship if they pass a background check and meet education requirements.

Venezuelans, Haitians and others whose Temporary Protected Status the Trump administration has revoked would also qualify for the Dignity Program, except they wouldn’t have to pay the $7,000 restitution, according to Salazar’s office.

Ideally, a House committee should hear Salazar’s legislation and air out some of its details. Mainly, would it fair and feasible to require mostly low-income migrants to pay $1,000 per year for seven years? And what about the bureaucratic burden of having to process the applications of up to 10 million people her office expects would benefit from the Dignity Program when Trump has slashed the federal workforce?

These questions must be considered but, first, Congress needs to take immigration reform seriously.

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