AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The vast majority of Republicans do support President Trump's efforts to carry out mass deportations, but some have started to worry about political backlash, especially in swing districts with heavy immigrant populations. NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has more.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: South Florida Republican Maria Elvira Salazar has been on a yearslong mission to reimagine the U.S. immigration system. In English and in Spanish, the congresswoman is talking to anyone who will listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: (Speaking Spanish).
And the people who have been making this economy better.
(Speaking Spanish).
GRISALES: That's Salazar at a flurry of events this year, from the sidelines of a GOP retreat near her Miami-Dade County district to meetings on Capitol Hill. She represents a swing district dominated by Cuban Americans now worried about President Trump's mass deportation plans, like this protest recently captured by the Miami Herald.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome here. No hate, no fear...
GRISALES: The child of Cuban exiles herself, Salazar wants to instill protections for some immigrants. She's revamping legislation called the Dignity Act to block deportations of those who are pillars in their communities, such as hospitality, construction and farm workers. She argues that's a way to avoid mistaken deportations that are drawing increasing attention.
SALAZAR: If you are the lady who's been cleaning toilets for 22 years, and you do not have a criminal record, and you have American kids, and you have been paying taxes, and you have been here helping the economy, we should give you dignity.
GRISALES: To persuade GOP hard-liners, the plan creates a new path to legal status, not citizenship, for those with U.S. residency of five years or more and clean criminal backgrounds. Salazar is hoping to build on dozens of bipartisan cosponsors who signed onto her Dignity Act in the two previous sessions of Congress, but she's facing an uphill battle balancing that against the views of constituents like Cuban American Josie Parke.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOSIE PARKE: Some of them may be lovely people with honorable ideas, but they broke the law.
GRISALES: That's Parke during a visit to Miami's iconic Versailles Restaurant in the earliest days of Trump's second term. Months later, she remains fiercely loyal to the president, even as the administration's deportations face growing criticism and legal challenges. Eduardo Gamarra, politics professor at Florida International University, says Trump's immigration policies could dictate how long voters are willing to give Republicans control of Congress and the White House.
EDUARDO GAMARRA: This could be a two-year moment, or it could be a 25-year moment.
GRISALES: Republicans could face turmoil as expulsions grow and rip through Latino and immigrant communities. GOP Congressman David Valadao, who represents a district north of Los Angeles, is among those with concerns.
DAVID VALADAO: We do have to come up with a process to allow them to stay here legally and not continue in this living-in-the-shadows situation.
GRISALES: Valadao cosponsored Salazar's Dignity Act in the past and says he wants to give the new version of the bill a look. For her legislation to have a chance, Salazar must win over members like New York Republican Nicole Malliotakis, who remain strongly supportive of the president's policies.
NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS: If you're here, if you broke the law, you're committing crimes, you need to get out of here.
GRISALES: While many Republicans argue they're delivering on a top campaign promise, voters will ultimately decide how far is too far for a country with a long and complicated history with immigrants.
Claudia Grisales, NPR News, the Capitol and Miami, Florida.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHESSBOXER'S "I CAN'T TELL MY SECRET WEAPON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
