WLRN has partnered with PolitiFact to fact-check Florida politicians. The Pulitzer Prize-winning team seeks to present the true facts, unaffected by agenda or biases.
U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., wants to overhaul the U.S. immigration system by providing legal pathways for certain immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
The Dignity Act, which increases border security and speeds up asylum decisions, has garnered bipartisan support with 39 cosponsors, almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
Republican critics say her bill is far too lenient.
"The Dignity Act is mass amnesty and would constitute a terrible betrayal of our voters," Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill wrote April 7 on X. Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, echoed that sentiment.
Salazar, a Cuban American whose Miami district includes a large immigrant population, introduced the bill several times before it gained traction in 2025 as the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts scaled up.
When PolitiFact asked Salazar's office about Gill's post, her spokesperson pointed us to her April 7 response to him on X.
"Calling the DIGNITY Act 'amnesty' isn't just wrong. It's a deliberate distortion and it exposes just how little you know about the bill," Salazar wrote. "This is enforcement first: zero tolerance for criminals, permanent border security, and hard, earned requirements to step forward and face the law." She added that the bill provides "no shortcuts. No giveaways. No blanket forgiveness."
PolitiFact has fact-checked several claims over the years about whether legislation amounts to amnesty — a political term with no agreed-upon definition. (This is our first time looking at the Dignity Act.)
One interpretation of amnesty is a blanket pardon and citizenship status to all immigrants in the U.S. illegally. The Dignity Act doesn't do that.
But the bill provides a new, renewable legal status to a portion of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who meet certain criteria. To supporters of restrictive immigration policies such as Gill, this permission to remain in the U.S. while avoiding deportation sounds like amnesty.
Salazar's legislation includes requirements, such as paying $7,000 in fines and passing criminal background checks, for certain immigrants to obtain legal status.
The bill's provisions would apply to immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally before 2021; the Department of Homeland Security estimates that number to be around 10.5 million. That means there's a pool of millions of people who could potentially benefit if they satisfy the requirements and remain in good standing.
Ilya Somin, a George Mason University law professor, said whether the bill grants amnesty is a semantic debate that distracts from the issue's merits.
"The Dignity Act would create 'mass amnesty' in the sense that it gives legal status to large numbers of people, potentially millions, who would otherwise be eligible for deportation," Somin said. "On the other hand, you can argue it is not real 'amnesty,'" because of the required fines and time limit on the legal status.
PolitiFact emailed Gill and his spokesperson for evidence but received no response.
What is amnesty?
A legal definition of amnesty says it is "a blanket abolition of an offense by the government, with the legal result that those charged or convicted have the charge or conviction wiped out.
"When it comes to immigration, what constitutes amnesty is up for debate. Some consider amnesty to be granting citizenship to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally. Others use it as a catch-all term for policies that allow immigrants in the country illegally to remain in the U.S. without the threat of deportation, even when it doesn't lead to citizenship or includes measures they have to meet.
Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act — broadly considered an amnesty program because it allowed people in the U.S. illegally to become lawful permanent residents if they were in the country by Jan. 1, 1982, and met other requirements.
"Historically, amnesty has been used to convey the forgiveness of immigration violations and the conferral of legal status without countervailing requirements, such as the payment of a fine or demonstration of certain criteria," said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
Would the Dignity Act grant mass amnesty?
Republican opponents of the Dignity Act take issue with the bill's provisions that could grant legal status to large swaths of immigrants.
The bill creates a program that would allow immigrants in the U.S. illegally since before Dec. 31, 2020, to earn "dignity status," a newly created legal status, for seven years if they are employed or attending school, pass a background check and pay $7,000 in fines, as well as back taxes owed. Immigrants who entered the U.S. in 2021 or later would not be eligible.
Recipients would have to check in with DHS, and they can renew their status as long as they remain in good standing. They would not be eligible for federal benefits or U.S. citizenship.
"There is nothing 'mass' about it. People would be decided for inclusion based on individual characteristics on an individual basis," said David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. "Typically amnesty involves wiping away all consequences related to a violation of law," but the Dignity Act imposes fines and other requirements.
The bill also includes a version of the Dream Act, allowing immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to obtain legal status for up to 10 years and, if they meet certain requirements, to eventually be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. This could allow up to 2.5 million "Dreamers" to continue to live and work in the U.S.
"The Dignity Act does not grant amnesty, which, to me, means a universal reprieve without any consideration to a fee or process to be right with the law," said Christian Penichet-Paul, assistant vice president of policy and advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group. "People have to earn their legal status under the bill and, except for Dreamers, there is no opportunity to earn U.S. citizenship. People can disagree with the merits of the bill without calling it something it is not."
Some see it differently.
Steven Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that favors low immigration levels, says amnesty "almost always" has conditions, and compared the Dignity Act with Reagan's Immigration Reform and Control Act.
"They are very alike," Camarota said. "They are both giving green cards to millions of people who are here without formal authorization, and (the IRCA) also had some requirements and fines.
"The bill is unambiguously an amnesty for some people, and it's a generous one."
The Dignity Act includes funding to add more physical barriers and surveillance technology to the U.S. border and would require businesses to use the E-verify system to verify employee eligibility. It would speed up asylum decisions to within 60 days, requiring applicants to be housed at the border, and increase penalties on noncitizen voting and illegal reentry, among other provisions.
Our ruling
Gill said the Dignity Act is "mass amnesty."
Salazar's legislation is not a blanket pardon allowing all immigrants in the country illegally to remain in the U.S, but there's a pool of millions who potentially could benefit.
The Dignity Act includes requirements — such as paying $7,000 in fines and passing criminal background checks — for some immigrants in the country before 2021 to obtain legal status for seven years. Immigrants who entered the U.S. in 2021 or after would not be eligible.
The newly created "dignity status" would be renewable. For some immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, the legislation would grant legal status with the eventual possibility of U.S. citizenship.
Gill's statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details. We rate it Half True.
Our Sources
- X, Rep. Brandon Gill post, April 7, 2026
- X, Gov. Ron DeSantis post, April 6, 2026
- X, posts by Rep. Maria Salazar, April 7, 2026
- Congress.gov, H. R. 4393, Accessed April 7, 2026
- Library of Congress, 1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Accessed April 7, 2026
- Merriam-Webster, amnesty definition, Accessed April 7, 2026
- Law.com, amnesty definition, Accessed April 7, 2026
- American Immigration Council, Bipartisan Group of Legislators Keep Dream of Immigration Reform Alive with Reintroduced 'DIGNIDAD' Act, July 15, 2025
- The National Immigration Forum, The Dignity Act of 2025: Bill Summary, July 15, 2025
- PolitiFact, Ron DeSantis' claim that Trump wanted to grant 'amnesty' to 2 million people needs context, June 5, 2023
- PolitiFact, Gavin Newsom's Mostly False claim about Ron DeSantis' support of amnesty for immigrants, Dec. 5, 2023
- PolitiFact, Sen. Marco Rubio says immigration bill is not amnesty, April 17, 2013
- FWD.us, Dreamers By the Numbers, March 14, 2025
- Department of Homeland Security, Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2018–January 2022, April 2024
- Email interview, Claudia Rondon, spokesperson for Rep. Maria Salazar, April 7-8, 2026
- Email interview, Ilya Somin, Law professor at George Mason University, April 8, 2026
- Email interview, Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute, April 8, 2026
- Email interview, David Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, April 8, 2026
- Phone interview, Steven Camarota research director at Citizenship Immigration Studies, April 13, 2026
- Email interview, Christian Penichet-Paul, assistant vice president of policy and advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, April 13, 2026
Copyright 2026 WLRN
