MICHAEL GINSBERG at dailycaller.com
Republican Florida Rep. Maria Salazar on Tuesday urged Congress to provide “dignity” to millions of illegal immigrants as part of an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws.
Salazar spoke during the America (Un)Bound panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. “There’s no way that the United States can continue being what it is, the most important power in the world, the number-one economy in the world, if we don’t have hands,” she said. “I represent the Hispanics, which are the largest minority in the country. We are 23%. And the overwhelming majority of the people who are crossing the border as we speak are Hispanics, Latinos, like I am.”
A second-term congresswoman, Salazar represents a Miami-based congressional district that is 70% Hispanic. 68% of adult residents speak Spanish at home, according to the U.S. Census, and 52% are immigrants. Salazar has repeatedly expressed interest in immigration reform, introducing legislation in February 2022 that would increase border security and give longtime illegal immigrants a pathway to permanent resident status.
The WEF later made its livestream of the panel private. A WEF spokeswoman did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment on why the organization made the video private.
“And this nation, and I believe people like me in Congress, should be the ones telling the rest of the political elite that it’s time for both parties to pay attention to something that, for the last 35 years, neither party has been able to do, which is to pass complete overhaul of the immigration system. Because not only do we need those hands, like the senator was saying, but we need to also give dignity to those people who are in the country,” Salazar continued.