GOP Members Feel Heat over Mass Deportation: Do They Have the Courage to Stand and Deliver Real Change?

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Washington, DC — As lawmakers head home for the August congressional recess, Republicans are feeling the heat over mass deportations and the political and economic costs on display. These existing human and economic costs are set to worsen, due to the massive increase in ICE funding in the reconciliation bill and the potential escalation of the military’s role in immigration enforcement. And just in time for recess and facing their constituents, including Latino voters rejecting mass deportation in favor of balanced approaches, some Republicans are calling for a different immigration direction. It raises the question whether these GOP Members are prepared to go past lip service and scripted quotes and put any real muscle behind a better way for our nation?

According to Joanna Kuebler, America’s Voice Chief of Programs:

“Republican lawmakers – notably those in swing districts – are feeling the heat from their constituents as they stand aside and do nothing to stop the mass deportation agenda that is hurting our economy, our community and our respect for decency and hard work. Americans across the board, including Latino voters and business voices, are rejecting the brutality of mass deportation and the militarization of law enforcement of our nation.

Republican lawmakers are meeting constituents back home after voting to turbo-charge the mass deportation agenda to the tune of 170 billion taxpayer dollars. If they won’t stand up to deportation thuggery, the voters will. Let’s be clear: It is fully within the power of Republicans in Congress – including those now speaking out – to stop militarized raids by voting to block funding, to hold hearings and to pursue other levers to demand a new path forward on immigration and to defend our democracy. They are on the wrong side of voters and the wrong side of history. Sound bites won’t cut it.”

 Below are examples of the mounting political and economic costs for key GOP lawmakers:

Marianna Sotomayor highlights in a Washington Post article, “Latino GOP lawmakers voice worry about Trump’s mass deportation campaign”:

“Hispanic Republicans in the U.S. House say they are increasingly concerned that President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign could backfire with Latino voters, as they look for ways to protect some undocumented immigrants from deportation. These Republicans expressed fear that the inroads Trump and the GOP made with Latino voters in 2024 could erode because of what they see as a haphazard approach to mass deportations, which are starting to disrupt their communities and threaten local businesses. They are growing especially anxious about the push to arrest and deport migrants whose only crime is crossing the border illegally.”

See here for a recap of last week’s America’s Voice virtual event featuring UnidosUS, Global Strategy Group and Third Way discussing the latest polling on Latino voters’ and all Americans’ views on mass deportation and immigration.

The New York Times, meanwhile, highlights how Cuban-American billionaire and longtime Republican Mike Fernandez is now seeking to defeat three South Florida Republican Members of Congress over their support for Trump’s immigration agenda and attempts to have it both ways on immigration.

And as if the massive uptick for ICE funding in the reconciliation bill wasn’t chilling enough, Greg Sargent of The New Republic reports on an internal Trump administration memo that would escalate the U.S. military’s role in domestic immigration enforcement, noting:

“[A]n internal memo circulated inside the Department of Homeland Security suggests that Trump’s use of the military for domestic law enforcement on immigration could soon get worse. The memo—obtained by The New Republic—provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in these domestic operations, and it has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation.

The memo lays out the need to persuade top Pentagon officials to get much more serious about using the military to combat illegal immigration—and not just at the border. It suggests that DHS is anticipating many more uses of the military in urban centers, noting that L.A.-style operations may be needed ‘for years to come.’ And it likens the threat posed by transnational gangs and cartels to having ‘Al Qaeda or ISIS cells and fighters operating freely inside America,’ hinting at a ramped-up militarized posture inside the interior.”