While much of the focus has been on foreign affairs in recent weeks due to the Iran war, there is growing controversy here at home over a bipartisan immigration bill currently being considered in the House of Representatives.
The so-called “Dignity Act” is causing an uproar because, if passed, it would make it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the country. While that is something you would expect to find in a Democrat-backed bill, the Dignity Act is co-sponsored by more than a dozen GOP representatives.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Michael Knowles, host of The Michael Knowles Show, to discuss the false framing of the legislation and why it is a betrayal of the Republican base.
The Bill
In July 2025, a bipartisan group of representatives led by Reps. María Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) introduced the “Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2025” (a.k.a. the DIGNIDAD Act or Dignity Act).
The original list of co-sponsors on the bill – which, according to a press release from Salazar’s office, aims to “fix our nation’s broken immigration system” via “the first serious bipartisan immigration solution proposed by Congress in decades” – includes 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats.
The legislation calls for stricter border enforcement in parallel with a legal process for illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications to stay in the country without fear of deportation. The so-called “Dignity Program” would give illegals seven years of temporary legal status so long as they have been in the country for five years, pass a criminal background check, repay back taxes, and pay $7,000 in restitution.
Supporters of the bill claim individuals in the Dignity Program would not be eligible for federal benefits or be on a path to citizenship. Instead, they say the bill consists of five core principles “based on the biblical principles of Dignity,” including “ending illegal immigration once and for all,” “fixing our outdated asylum system,” “providing a dignified solution for undocumented immigrants living in America,” “protect[ing] American workers and supports industries,” and “ensuring the United States remain prosperous and competitive in the future.”
While there has been no movement on the bill recently, it is back in the news after Rep. Salazar, who is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, announced late last month that she and other supporters will be going on a nationwide “Dignity Tour” to rally support for its passage.
Pro-Amnesty Push?
The act has many in the ‘America First’ coalition outraged because they say it flies in the face of President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
“One of the top reasons that he won not only the election but the popular vote is on mass deportations. Mass deportations are a mainstream, popular political issue,” Knowles said. “So, what are these jokers, these Republicans in Congress say? They come around and they say, ‘I know what we’ll do after winning the first popular election in 20 years. Let’s give illegals mass amnesty.’ It makes you just put your head in your hands and think: Leave it to these people to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory.”
While Salazar has maintained this is not an amnesty bill, Knowles isn’t buying it. “Salazar is now saying that this is not an amnesty bill in any way. She’s attacking even some of her colleagues in Congress, like [Rep.] Brandon Gill (R-TX), who has led the fight against this in Congress. She is saying that he is lying about the legislation,” he explained. “The bill would literally give not only amnesty but a pathway to citizenship for untold numbers of so-called Dreamers – a term coined under the Obama administration, referring to illegal aliens who are brought to this country at a younger age.”
Even with the controversy surrounding immigration enforcement tactics in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and elsewhere, Megyn said the polls show there is still overwhelming support on the right and even some on the left for mass deportations, which makes Republican support for this bill in Congress all the more confusing.
Knowles blamed it on “fake Republicans” and Republicans from swing districts who are trying to appeal to Democrats. “[And] the other constituency in the Republican Party that does want this is a lot of the donor class. That’s what this is about,” he said. “Basically no Republican voters want this; they actually want the opposite of this. But some Republican donors want it because they benefit from the slave labor that we get from mass migration.”
Bait and Switch
Interestingly, the bill contains some border protections – like mandating nationwide E-Verify to ensure all American businesses are hiring legal workers – that Megyn is happy to get behind, but she said, to Knowles’ point, there is a reason such a law doesn’t already exist.
“That should be happening right now. The Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and we haven’t done that. There’s a reason we haven’t done that,” she noted. “It’s because Republicans… including right up to the one in the White House, do favor allowing some portion of illegals to continue staying here and working here, like in the hotel industry… or on farms.”
As Megyn explained, “that’s why they don’t pass an immediate requirement that E-Verify be implemented at the federal level all across the country… That would actually get rid of the illegals really fast because they couldn’t work… without proving that they were U.S. citizens. They won’t do that, but this bill reports to do that.”
The Dignity Act also says it will require DNA testing for family verification, increase penalties for illegal border crossers, enact strongest penalties possible for child sex traffickers on asylum, end catch and release, build humanitarian campuses near the southern border to process asylum seekers in federal custody, expedite asylum processing determinations within 60 days, and increase penalties for asylum fraud.
“There are some good things in here, and this is supposed to be the carrot to get people like you and me into this thing without realizing that they always do this. They always say this. All those things I just mentioned that I like, like E-Verify, will be stripped out of it,” Megyn cautioned. “The Democrats will never vote for that… neither will a lot of Republicans.”
Ultimately, she believes this is a cycle we have seen before. “This is just to make us say, ‘Okay, I’ll open minded to it,’ to get the amnesty,” Megyn concluded. “Then, we will let in a bunch of more illegals and, in about 10 years, there will be a new push for more amnesty.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Knowles by tuning in to episode 1,292 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.