Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) turned heads Saturday after announcing that he planned on introducing Democratic lawmakers’ reform package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the Senate floor, a move that drew sharp backlash from MAGA-aligned conservatives.
“While I believe the Democrats’ proposal regarding ICE and immigration are fatally flawed and will take us backward on immigration enforcement, I think it deserves a vote in the U.S. senate,” Graham wrote Saturday in a social media post on X.
“Therefore, if no one else will, I will introduce the Democrat package to ensure it gets a vote on the floor – and I will enthusiastically vote no.”
Despite Graham’s pledge to vote against the package – which, if enacted, would prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks and enforce stricter guardrails around their operations – his proposal was met with fury from a number of MAGA faithful, many of whom demanded he instead focus on the SAVE Act, the voting requirements bill backed by President Donald Trump.
“As of right now everything takes a backseat until you PASS THE SAVE ACT!” wrote X user “Art S,” a pro-Republican, pro-Trump self-described MAGA follower with more than 10,000 followers, in a social media post on X.
“Really?” asked another, X user “AZ Patriot,” another self-described pro-Trump MAGA follower. “WHAT ABOUT THE SAVE ACT LINDSEY???? You’re willing to put this ahead of the save act that we’ve been waiting on for 7 Months.”
Graham has been a strong supporter of Trump’s immigration policy, and has pushed for legislation to punish so-called "sanctuary cities” that conservative critics argue don’t sufficiently cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials.
And, while Graham made clear that he would vote against the Democratic Party-backed package on reining in ICE after introducing it, he was still hit by conservative critics by the dozens.
“What are you smoking?”
asked X user “Dave,” a self-described conservative and anti-left political commentator with more than 6,000 followers. “You have ONE job. PASS THE SAVE ACT.”