WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) HAS reiterated that he would prefer undocumented migrants to go through a "speedy" path to U.S. citizenship. Rep. Frost was responding to comments that some right-wing outlets picked up, claiming he wanted immediate amnesty last week.
"What I was saying is that I also agree that there's too many undocumented people in the country, and I feel like one of the big solutions, the biggest solution, is to have a speedy path to citizenship," Frost said to The Floridian.
The congressman said he hoped undocumented immigrants could receive a faster path to citizenship than the current process, noting that many have lived in the U.S. for years. Under its current form, it can take years for undocumented immigrants to become American citizens.
"When you say a path to citizenship, that doesn't mean, oh, yeah, everyone should be a citizen tomorrow. I didn't say mass citizenship for everyone tomorrow," Frost said. "I said a path. That means there's still a process that people need to go through."
Frost notably did not extend that privilege to criminal migrants.
"What I'm saying is, you're here for over 10 years, which is the majority of undocumented people, there should be a path to citizenship, not automatic tomorrow," Frost said.
The hot-button issue follows protests in Los Angeles County over federal immigration raids carried out by the Trump administration. The protest, labeled as riots by some, also opened up California's authority under Gov. Gavin Newsom to handle its law and order without the federal government's assistance.
Seeing events unfolding in L.A., Gov. Ron DeSantis avoided that predicament by affirming Florida's zero tolerance to unruly behavior.
Not agreeing with the Republican governor on much, Frost acknowledged that unruly behavior should not occur in L.A. or Florida. Although he did make it clear that most protestors in L.A. were nonviolent.
"If you're being violent, then, yeah. I mean, we have laws on the books. People should be dealt with," Frost said.
