In an era of bipartisan dysfunction and border insecurity, there remains one principle that continues to command support from a silent majority of Americans: fairness. A new poll confirms what many in Washington would rather ignore. More than three-quarters of respondents believe it is unjust to allow illegal aliens to cut ahead of those waiting patiently to enter the United States legally. And more than half support the deportation of all illegal aliens, regardless of how they arrived or what they have done since. These are not the sentiments of xenophobes or radicals. They are the view of citizens who value law, order, and equity.
Yet once again, political elites – on both sides of the aisle – are floating the idea of amnesty for illegal aliens. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, Republican of Pennsylvania, told NewsNation he and others on his committee “have been working on a bipartisan bill regarding migrant farm workers, and they are likely to introduce the bill in September.” Some of Thompson’s colleagues aren’t waiting until then – last week, Congresswomen Maria Elvira Salazar, Republican of Florida, and Veronica Escobar, Democrat of Texas, teamed up to introduce the so-called “Dignity Act of 2025,” under which illegal aliens “who have been in the United States since before 2021 would be able to apply for up to seven years of legal status with work authorization,” according to NBC News.
This seems to happen on a regular basis. President George W. Bush pushed for amnesty in 2004, as he ran for reelection, and again in 2007. President Obama waited until his second term to push for amnesty in 2013. Joe Biden didn’t even try a legislative push for amnesty – he just opened the border on Day One.
Their particular mode of amnesty may have varied, but all had this in common – they wanted to set aside current law for those who had already broken it, to provide some form of legal status for those here illegally.
This time, the amnesty advocates’ particular argument centers on so-called “essential workers” in agriculture, hospitality, and construction. They work hard, say the advocates. They pay taxes. They fill jobs that Americans supposedly won’t do. Why not carve out a pathway to legal status for them?
Here’s why: because amnesty, by any name, is an invitation to lawlessness. Rewarding those who have violated our immigration laws – no matter how well-intentioned – undermines the very foundation of our legal system. It mocks the millions around the world who seek to come here legally, and it guarantees future waves of illegal immigration, just as previous amnesties have.
The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act – “Simpson-Mazzoli,” for those old enough to remember – granted legal status to nearly 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for promises of tougher enforcement. That enforcement never materialized. Today, almost 20 million people are estimated to live in the United States illegally, and recent years have brought record numbers across the southern border. If history teaches us anything, it is that amnesty begets more illegal immigration, not less.
Advocates claim the U.S. economy, especially sectors like farming and hospitality, would collapse without illegal alien labor. But that argument is a self-serving fiction perpetuated by industries that have grown addicted to cheap, pliable labor. Rather than investing in automation, raising wages, or recruiting legal workers, these industries have built a business model on the back of lawbreaking. It is not the responsibility of the American government to perpetuate an underclass simply to keep salad prices low or hotel sheets turned down.
Consider the long-term costs. Illegal aliens, even those who work, often draw more in public benefits than they contribute in taxes. Their children are educated in public schools. They use emergency services, Medicaid, and housing assistance. And when they receive legal status, their access to entitlement programs expands dramatically. The fiscal burden is real and growing. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that the cost of illegal immigration to American taxpayers is more than $150 billion annually.
There is also a profound civic cost. When government declares that violating the law earns you eventual reward, it sends a corrosive message to citizens and legal immigrants alike: that the rules don’t matter, that the law is negotiable, and the patients are fools. The American creed is built on equal treatment under the law – not tiered systems that privilege the audacious over the obedient.
Of course, we do not advocate cruelty. Immigration enforcement should be orderly, respectful, and humane. But it should also be firm and consistent. Those who are here illegally should be returned to their home countries through due process. And future immigration should be driven by merit, security, and national interest – not by special pleading from lobbyists or industries seeking to preserve a shadow workforce.
If the agriculture or hospitality sectors need more labor, let them make their case through legal guest worker programs or by raising wages to attract Americans and legal residents. America is not short of workers, it is short of political will to enforce the law and protect the interests of its citizens.
The United States has the most generous legal immigration system in the world. Over a million people are welcomed each year through legal channels. They wait in line, they follow the rules, and they enrich our nation. They deserve to be honored – not pushed aside for those who came unlawfully.
It’s time to end the cycle of lawbreaking and amnesty. No more false promises. No more backroom deals. If the polls tell us anything, it’s that the American people are tired of being told that borders don’t matter, laws are optional, and fairness is naïve. They are right to insist that immigration policy start putting Americans – citizens and legal immigrants – first.
Amnesty is not compassion. It is capitulation. And it must be rejected.
Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Creative Commons/Flickr)
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