Rep. Maria Salazar Advocates for Illegal Immigrants’ Role in National Security
On Monday, Republican Representative Maria Salazar from Florida expressed her belief that American security relies, in part, on illegal immigrants. Her comments came as she aligned with Democratic efforts to promote her proposed amnesty bill, which would offer legal status to at least 15 million undocumented immigrants. She stated:
“Let them stay…keep them contributing to the world’s best economy, so we can continue to be the world’s best military. [If] We have no economy, no guns, and no ability to protect ourselves.”
However, there isn’t much evidence that these 15 million illegal immigrants, along with an additional 40 million legal immigrants, significantly contribute to a high-tech national security strategy that appears to be downsizing.
What’s more, many immigrants—be they tenants, workers, or consumers—are often utilized to prop up the consumer economy, especially as domestic industries shift their operations overseas to capitalize on cheap labor in countries like China and India. Salazar’s amnesty proposal could accelerate this trend by greatly increasing the number of legalized low-wage workers entering the market.
Salazar’s past remarks about her corporate-backed amnesty bill indicated that it was primarily aimed at assuring an abundance of “cheap labor” for large corporate donors in Florida.
Responding to claims that the bill exclusively benefits big businesses, she said: “That’s not true. Big business, it’s not just agriculture, construction, hospitality, health care, manufacturing—it’s much more,” during a Capitol Hill press conference in April.
Salazar elaborated:
“Who else is there? Farmers and people involved in the dairy industry. We all like milk, right? Well, right now there are 150,000 jobs in agriculture…manufacturing! I know there are lots of positions there.”
A broad coalition, including Democrats, Republicans, investors, and immigration attorneys, often praises immigrants—suggesting they’re potentially more industrious than native-born Americans.
For instance, in 2017, former Republican Bill Kristol suggested that America requires new, energetic immigrants to invigorate a supposedly declining work ethic among citizens.
“You could argue that America was great because… after a few generations of comfort, people become kind of decadent and lazy… we’re fortunate that there’s this wave of people coming who really want to work hard and succeed.”
Similarly, a piece in the New York Times pointed out that there’s no workforce available to replace the enduring relationships built over years in care sectors, as noted by Katie Smith-Sloan, CEO of LeadingAge.
On Monday, Salazar stated that her amnesty plan intertwines the interests of donors, ethnic demographics, and electoral tactics. She mentioned:
“Millions of undocumented immigrants live in my area. Perhaps 80 percent of these individuals are Hispanic—the largest and fastest-growing minority. So why not offer them dignity? Let those with no criminal record remain.”
Polls indicate that public awareness is growing about the economic and social issues associated with migration driven by business interests.
Both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have argued that America’s economic focus should lean toward efficiency rather than immigration.
“If you want to support average Americans, don’t allow nine low-wage immigrants to compete in wage talks,” Vance remarked recently, adding:
“We offshored our industrial jobs and turned into a service-focused economy. Wealth accumulation has led to a generation drawn toward socialism.”
“More restrictive immigration policies give us more power,” he emphasized.
