At CPAC Latino, Salazar says give immigrants contributing to US a chance to stay

Miami Herald

17 hours ago

Immigrants who have been contributing to their U.S. communities for years while in the country illegally should be given the opportunity to earn legal status, Miami Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said Saturday during a gathering of conservative Latinos.
Salazar, a Republican whose coastal Miami-Dade district includes more than 535,000 people who identify as Hispanic or Latino, spoke about her 'Dignity Act' that she drafted with fellow Hispanic Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat The bill, which they introduced in 2023, would offer a way for immigrants who years ago arrived illegally to stay in the United States if they don't have a criminal record, contribute to the economy and pay restitution.
Salazar, who has said she will reintroduce the legislation this month, emphasized that those who qualify would receive no government assistance, just a way to continue working in the country.
'Let's seal the border,' Salazar said. 'But once that is done, then we have to look back and start this national conversation, and then give some type of dignity to those people with no criminal record, who have been a part of our communities and who are decent human beings.'
Though Salazar has been critical at times of elements of President Donald Trump's sweeping plan to deport millions of immigrants, she heaped praise on the Republican president.
'Trump will be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery, and what Reagan was for communism,' she said.
Salazar's comments came during a Conservative Political Action Conference event held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, co-hosted by Latino Wallstreet. Conservative leaders said during the conference that Hispanic Americans are only increasing their power and influence across the United States, touting the growing diversity of the Republican Party.
This year's conference began one day after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Trump could move forward for now with a policy preventing children born to immigrants in the country illegally from receiving citizenship in places where there isn't pending litigation — which includes Florida. The policy also applies to children of some temporary visa holders.
The policy is part of a bigger Trump administration agenda to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and end programs that have either provided temporary legal status or deferred immigration enforcement for people who came from places like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Beyond Salazar's comments, the topic of immigration enforcement went mostly undiscussed throughout the day.
When event organizer Mercedes Schlapp, a senior adviser for communications during Trump's first administration, was asked prior to Salazar's speech about the congresswoman's position on immigration — including a social media post saying she was 'heartbroken' by the way ICE raids were affecting Miami communities — Schlapp said events like CPAC are meant to bring people with different viewpoints to the stage.
'We're not going to agree on everything,' Schlapp said. 'And I think for Maria Elvira, she is speaking up for her community in South Florida.'
During her speech, Salazar also denounced socialism and said Democrats have been 'infiltrated' by it, referencing self-titled democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's recent win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. She said Hispanic Republicans have to act as 'saviors of the party' to prevent the same thing happening across the aisle.
Several speakers said Hispanic people were at the heart of the modern Republican Party.
Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores from Texas and Trump special assistant Jenny Korn said that without the Hispanic vote, Trump would not have won the 2024 election. Trump 'loves Latinos,' Korn said, and he works with advisers of Latino descent, like her, on issues of national security.
Flores said she wanted to see more Hispanic people in Congress to represent that influence.
'Hispanics are the future of this party,' Flores said. 'If the Republican Party wants to win big this upcoming midterm, they've got to continue investing in the Hispanic community.'