I am watching Republican legislators very closely. In 2023 they passed HR2, Secure the Border Act, the first immigration legislation with real teeth (unlike all other Democratic legislation, it has a mandatory e-Verify provision). Every Democrat in the House voted against it, and Biden’s Democratic Senate refused to bring it up for a vote. Republicans now control the Senate. When will Republicans pass HR2 into law? Or was HR2 just performative politics to get votes?

Trump has made remarks about exempting hotels and restaurants from ICE raids. We off-shored middle class manufacturing jobs with NAFTA and declared that we would have a service economy of hotel and restaurant workers to serve those of wealthier means. If Republicans exempt those industries from ICE raids, then Republican talk of MAGA is performative politics, and Republicans are still the party of big business, not the American worker. Americans of wealthier means can well afford to pay a living wage to service industry workers. We should be ashamed of the cry, “Who will do the work nobody wants?”

Elon Musk has said he would “go to war” to preserve H1-B visas, which have hollowed out middle class technical jobs. Thankfully, Musk is now persona non grata with both Democrats and Trump. Republicans, when will you legislate a stop to H1-B visas?

Republicans now claim to be the party of the American worker. Legislative action speaks louder than words. I’m watching.

— Michael McNeil, Mead