Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., was blasted for arguing Wednesday that the best way to solve the illegal immigration crisis is by providing everyone with a path to citizenship.
Frost hosted a press conference alongside multiple immigrant advocacy groups to announce his "Stop Unlawful Detention and End Mistreatment" or "SUDEM" Act. This legislation pushes for transparency in immigration detention by requiring all ICE-operated or ICE-affiliated facilities to be held accountable for their actions.
Frost declared that he and his allied groups are "fighting to hold Donald Trump, his administration and this state accountable for a taxpayer-funded kidnapping program trafficking our people across the entire world that they're running under the disguise of an immigration system."
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: U.S. Rep Maxwell Frost (D-FL) speaks during a rally held by Congress members in support of detained Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi in front of the State Department on April 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Mahdawi, a legal U.S. resident, was detained on March 8 during a US citizenship interview and is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday where a judge will determine if he will be deported or released. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
After declaring that "being undocumented in this country is not a crime," the lawmaker proposed that the best way to lower the number of illegal immigrants is simply to legalize them.
"We are an immigrant-filled community. We are a community filled with people. And yes, people are going to have different statuses, and to my Republican colleagues that say, "I don't want any undocumented people in this country,' I actually agree with you. So, let's document every single one of them with a speedy path to citizenship. That's how we fix this problem," Frost said.
Video of his comment drew immediate backlash online, with many arguing this is a mask-off moment for the Democratic Party agenda.
"If citizenship is reduced merely to a piece of government-issued paper then it is entirely meaningless," The Federalist correspondent Brianna Lyman argued.
Trump’s homeland security advisor, Stephen Miller, responded to the clip by warning, "If the Democrats were to obtain full political control of Washington they would swiftly complete the project of relocating the destitute and developing nations of the world in your communities and then giving them the full rights and privileges of US citizenship."
Maxwell Frost spoke about his new legislation at Wednesday's event. (Fox35)
"Dems say the quiet part out loud - make EVERY illegal alien legal, including the murderers, rapists, and other criminals," White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said. "No way in hell."
"Here is an idea: no," Townhall columnist Dustin Grage replied to the video.
Christina Pushaw, spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, replied with a simple, "Nope."