Republican lawmakers are publicly celebrating President Donald Trump's immigration raids and mass deportations, but behind the scenes, they're doing something else.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), one of the most conservative members of Congress, said he's "going to bat for" one immigrant in his district he believes to be "a good guy," NOTUS reported Monday.
Trump pledged during the 2024 election that he would only deport criminals, but many immigrants have been targeted by immigration police who have no criminal background. The head of ICE went so far as to tell CBS News, "Non-criminals living in the U.S. without authorization will also be taken into custody during arrest operations ..."
He alluded to what he claimed were "collateral" arrests, meaning people who were simply in the vicinity. There are several examples of people picked up by ICE that have no connection to criminal arrests or activity. The father of three Marines was handling the lawn at an IHOP in Los Angeles when agents snatched him and threw him in an unmarked van. A Louisiana mom was gardening outside her home when ICE grabbed her.
“He’s here legally at the moment, actually. He’s got a green card,” Roy said. “I think he’s deserving of potentially being on track for citizenship, but he’s got some things. These are human beings. You can kind of address these.”
“As members of Congress, we have room to do that,” he told NOTUS.
The gardening mom was ultimately released thanks to intervention from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). He told WDSU that he asked Homeland Security to give 64-year-old Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian "a fair shake" by considering "her life's work." She was in the United States legally until Trump's administration suddenly revoked her approval.
Roy told NOTUS that the administration has been responsive to GOP lawmaker intervention. He also said it is not an indication that Trump's immigration policy is acting haphazardly.
“There’s always concern about people that have been here and that are caught up in raids and stuff that work in different people’s businesses, and there’s always concerns in Texas about that, but the vast majority of people, even though directly impacted, are pretty happy to see people getting removed,” Roy said.
Scalise told the local news that when the gardening mom was picked up he asked, "Are they really looking at it the right way, objectively?" After his intervention, DHS "took a second look at it," he said.
Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, claims that she still acted illegally, overstaying her visa for over 30 years. The United States wouldn't issue her citizenship after a previous marriage connected her to a long-dead Iranian leader. Instead, she lived in a kind of grey zone in which ICE would meet with her every few years to determine whether she could remain in the country.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) told NOTUS that his office has seen a dramatic increase in casework involving immigrants in his district. Unlike Roy, he believes that Congress should step in.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-NY) said that he's been at work trying to help those from oppressive regimes like Cuba and Venezuela. He thinks those individuals have good asylum claims, but those haven't been successful recently. One gay hairdresser and makeup artist from Venezuela, who claimed asylum, was not only denied asylum, but sent by Trump to a brutal prison in El Salvador. He also hadn't committed a crime, but the administration alleged he was an MS-13 gang member due to his tattoos. The tattoos were actually meant to represent the three kings paying tribute to Jesus, one ABC News report said, citing his attorney. Another was a rose and a colorful butterfly. Homeland Security continues to claim he's a gang member and included him in a prisoner swap to Venezuela.
There are many more Republicans with similar comments.