Washington isn’t just a place of marble monuments and power lunches. It’s where politicians make strange deals and even stranger friends. Sometimes the most shocking proposals don’t come from the opposition party but from within your own ranks.

While Americans expect Democrats to push for open borders and citizenship giveaways, it’s always more surprising when those ideas come from Republicans. After all, wasn’t securing the border one of President Trump’s biggest campaign promises? Yet some GOP members seem to have different ideas about what that means.

Invoking God and Assassination Survival

Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) shocked many conservatives this week when she publicly called on President Trump to support her amnesty bill for illegal immigrants. But she didn’t just make a normal policy request – she went much further, invoking God and the assassination attempt against Trump last year.

From ‘Breitbart’:

The White House has rejected Rep. Maria Salazar’s (R-FL) suggestion President Donald Trump owes God a favor and should repay the debt by signing her amnesty and migration bill.

“The same God who saved you from death in Pennsylvania one year ago and who put you back in the Oval Office, against all odds, is the same God Almighty who millions and millions [of illegal migrants] are begging to for some type of dignity,” Salazar (R-FL) declared at a July 15 press conference on Capitol Hill.

Salazar didn’t stop there. She tried to convince Trump that signing her “Dignity Act” would put him in the same category as Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. “I believe that you could be for immigration, what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism,” she claimed.

A Firm White House Rejection

The White House wasn’t having any of it. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly shut down the proposal on Thursday.

“The president made it clear he will not support amnesty for illegal aliens in any way,” Leavitt stated firmly. She added that neither Trump nor the White House staff had even read the legislation, as they’ve been focused on other priorities.

Salazar’s bill would do much more than just offer “dignity” to illegal immigrants. It would create a 7-year program giving work permits and protection from deportation to millions of people who entered the country illegally. It would also double certain visa categories and create new pathways for foreign workers to enter and stay in America.

Immigration experts criticized Salazar’s approach as manipulative. Jessica Vaughan from the Center for Immigration Studies called Salazar’s religious pitch “insulting,” saying the congresswoman wrongly assumed Trump would be “a sucker for flattery.”

America First vs. Amnesty Push

This amnesty push comes at a time when American workers are trying to recover from years of economic hardship. Trump has consistently promised to prioritize the American Dream for citizens, not expand immigration programs that could hurt wages and job opportunities.

“We want to have a safe country… We want to be able to have our youth be able to buy homes, housing, get good jobs,” Trump said in August 2024, contrasting his vision with policies that put foreign workers ahead of Americans.

Surprisingly, ten Republican legislators joined Salazar in backing this proposal, including Reps. Dan Newhouse, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, and others who have previously broken with Trump’s immigration policies.

The swift rejection from the White House sends a clear message about Trump’s second term priorities. While Salazar tried using God, assassination survival, and historical comparisons to sway the president, Trump appears fully committed to his America First approach to immigration.

For voters who supported Trump specifically because of his tough immigration stance, the White House response provides reassurance that campaign promises about protecting American jobs and wages remain intact – regardless of which party tries to undermine them.

Key Takeaways

• White House Press Secretary firmly rejected amnesty, stating “Trump will not support amnesty for illegal aliens in any way”
• Rep. Salazar attempted to use religious appeals and Trump’s assassination survival as leverage for her immigration bill
• The proposed “Dignity Act” would have granted work permits and deportation protection to millions of illegal immigrants
• Ten Republican legislators joined Salazar’s amnesty push, breaking with Trump’s America First immigration policies

Sources: Breitbart, Daily Caller