The PAUSE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), aims to address immigration reform by freezing legal immigration except for temporary tourist admissions, while setting conditions for lifting the moratorium. The bill, which includes original co-sponsors such as Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas), Brandon Gill (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), seeks to establish permanent enforcement against illegal entry and categories of immigration that voters have opposed for years.
The legislation’s approach is described as a standing incentive for courts, presidents, and future Congresses, requiring judges who want legal immigration to continue to revisit the policies that created the crisis in the first place. If Trump focused his attention on this bill — and forced congressional Republicans to choose — he could unite conservatives heading into primary season. A transformational immigration fight would energize GOP voters at a moment when the party shows weakness across the map.
Recent special elections have seen Democrats over-performing by an average of 15 points, alarming Republican enough that they pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) from consideration for U.N. ambassador for fear of losing her district, which Trump carried by 15 points. Democrats are now pouring money into Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, which Trump carried by 20. A party that cannot defend safe seats is a party in trouble.
If Republicans can’t win in red America during a bad economy, it’s not because voters demand new talk points. It’s because the party has failed to deliver on the core issues that animate its base. Trump could offer a fresh economic vision or finally follow through on repealing Obamacare. But at a minimum, he should return to his original 2015 promise: Pause immigration and restore sanity to a system voter believe is broken beyond recognition.
The window is closing. If Republicans refuse to use the power they still possess, they will lose it — not gradually, but suddenly. The PAUSE Act gives them a chance to reverse that trajectory. The question is whether they will take it.
