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Issue record

Immigration

In short

Cait Conley's campaign would require ICE agents to wear body cameras and visible ID, ban their masks and create a path to citizenship for long-settled immigrants and Dreamers. Mike Lawler's campaign backs border enforcement and the Dignity Act and opposes sanctuary policies. On the record, he voted for the Laken Riley Act, now law. He backed the Dignity Act and bills on sanctuary cities, the border wall and protected status for Haitians; none is law.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Cait Conley

Would require ICE agents to wear body cameras and visible ID and ban masks, end 287(g) agreements, create a path to citizenship for long-settled immigrants and Dreamers, and focus enforcement on violent criminals.

Mike Lawler

Supports border enforcement, opposes sanctuary policies, and backs the Dignity Act and workforce-related legal immigration. He also cosponsored and voted for the Haitian TPS extension passed by the House; that proposal has not become law.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. campaign position

    Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

    The current bill confirms original cosponsorship and team participation, while exact drafting or negotiating leadership remains unresolved.

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    Lawler said he had led on the Dignity Act, without specifying a Congress or year. His campaign separately cites cosponsorship of H.R. 4393. María Elvira Salazar formally sponsored H.R. 4393 July 15, 2025, with Lawler as an original cosponsor. Salazar’s page identifies Salazar and Veronica Escobar as leaders and Lawler among the bipartisan participants. The current bill’s complete history records introduction and referrals rather than passage or enactment. This establishes participation in the current effort; his debate wording also permits relevant earlier Dignity work. Why there is no verdict: Political leadership is not synonymous with sole sponsorship. Direct drafting or negotiation leadership remains source-limited, and original cosponsorship alone does not settle that broader credit. H.R. 4393 has not created an enacted immigration-status benefit. The campaign’s historical first-serious-reform description remains opinion. Limit: Political leadership is not synonymous with sole sponsorship. Direct drafting or negotiation leadership remains source-limited, and original cosponsorship alone does not settle that broader credit. H.R. 4393 has not created an enacted immigration-status benefit. The campaign’s historical first-serious-reform description remains opinion. Debate wording is paraphrased from native captions.

  2. campaign position

    Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

    His letters, petition, cosponsorship and House vote are documented; the bill is not law. Personally obtained extensions and individual case outcomes remain unconfirmed.

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    Lawler said he had led Haitian TPS advocacy and pushed back on the President, helped pass the extension bill through the House and still needed Senate action. He also said he had spoken repeatedly with the administration, obtained several extensions and worked individual cases. Lawler was an original cosponsor of Laura Gillen’s H.R. 1689, introduced February 27, 2025. He voted Yea on April 16, 2026 House passage, 224-204. The House-passed text would require designation through April 20, 2029; the introduced version instead specified eighteen months beginning August 3, 2025. The bill reached the Senate calendar April 21 and has not become law. His signed September 8, 2025 Trump letter requests a policy rethink and TPS extension. The Clerk records his March 4, 2026 petition signature, number 165, seeking House consideration. His signed July 1, 2026 Thune letter seeks Senate passage. Separately, DHS’s July 1, 2024 notice made an eighteen-month administrative extension through February 3, 2026 under Secretary Mayorkas. Why there is no verdict: The dated advocacy and collective House-passage participation are supported. The several administrative extensions he says he obtained remain unidentified, including whether they mean country designation, employment documents or individual relief; conversations, cause and case outcomes are not independently corroborated. The 2024 extension is not evidence that Trump reversed course because of Lawler. House passage did not enact protection or itself change status. Later administrative and court developments require their own dated status check. Limit: The dated advocacy and collective House-passage participation are supported. The several administrative extensions he says he obtained remain unidentified, including whether they mean country designation, employment documents or individual relief; conversations, cause and case outcomes are not independently corroborated. The 2024 extension is not evidence that Trump reversed course because of Lawler. House passage did not enact protection or itself change status. Later administrative and court developments require their own dated status check. Debate wording is paraphrased from native captions.

  3. official action

    Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

    He voted for House bills cutting funds to sanctuary cities and restarting border wall work, which did not become law, and for the Laken Riley Act, which did.

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    His campaign says he supports secure borders and opposes sanctuary policies for migrants who commit crimes. He was an original cosponsor of the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 5717, and voted Yea when it passed the House 219-186 on September 20, 2024 (roll call 437). It cuts off federal funds that sanctuary jurisdictions plan to spend on migrants here without legal status. He voted Yea on the Secure the Border Act, H.R. 2, which passed the House 219-213 on May 11, 2023 (roll call 209); it called for restarting border wall construction and changing asylum rules. He voted Yea on the Laken Riley Act, S. 5, which passed the House 263-156 on January 22, 2025 (roll call 23) and became law on January 29. It requires the Homeland Security Department to detain certain migrants who entered illegally or lack valid entry papers and are arrested for or charged with theft, burglary, shoplifting or assaulting a law enforcement officer. Limit: Only the Laken Riley Act became law. These are passage votes; amendment votes were not counted.

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Sources24 source records

How we use sources

  1. Policyhttps://caitconley.com/policy/

    Cait for New York · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Twelve policy sections. Undated; read October 1, 2026.

    candidate statement

    For: Cait Conley: campaign position

  2. Issueshttps://www.lawlerforcongress.com/issues/

    Lawler for Congress, Inc. · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Fifteen issue sections, most of them lists of bills and votes he names. Undated; read October 1, 2026.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this; Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  3. H.R. 1689 (119th Congress), Haiti temporary protected statushttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1689

    Congress.gov · Published Feb 27, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Current Congress API detail, complete actions (13) and cosponsors (8) captured October 4. Sponsor Gillen; Lawler original cosponsor. House passed April 16, 2026; latest action Senate calendar April 21. No law listed.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  4. House Roll Call 120, passage of H.R. 1689https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026120

    Clerk of the U.S. House · Published Apr 16, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official final XML identifies H.R.1689, On Passage, Passed, 224 Yea and 204 Nay; Lawler L000599 voted Yea. Use the Clerk final vote, not an office-release tally.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: campaign position; Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  5. News 12 NY17 debate: lawler dignity (33:26)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=2006s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    September 28, 2026 debate. Statement paraphrased from retained native captions. One transcript is available, so no verbatim quotation is certified; neighboring opponent assertions are excluded.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  6. H.R. 4393 (119th Congress), DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4393

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Sponsor Maria Elvira Salazar. Lawler is an original cosponsor, July 15, 2025. In committee.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  7. Rep. Salazar’s Dignity Act pagehttps://salazar.house.gov/dignity-act

    Office of Rep. María Elvira Salazar · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Identifies Salazar and Escobar as leaders and Lawler as a bipartisan participant; role terminology must remain attributed.

    official office record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  8. News 12 NY-17 debate, Lawler on Haitian TPS advocacy, 35:11https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=2111s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Native-caption segments 1033-1035 support his own Haitian TPS advocacy assertion as a paraphrase. The following ICE-position discussion is outside this window.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  9. News 12 NY-17 debate, Lawler on Haitian TPS House passage, 36:56https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=2216s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Host-matched native caption segments 1089-1092, 36:56.079-37:02.640. This paraphrase covers House passage and the need for Senate action only. Later discussion of administrative extensions is a separate claim, not established by the bill/vote.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  10. News 12 NY17 debate: lawler tps extensions cases (37:05)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIU9kcsAldc&t=2225s

    News 12 · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    September 28, 2026 debate. Statement paraphrased from retained native captions. One transcript is available, so no verbatim quotation is certified; neighboring opponent assertions are excluded.

    candidate statement

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  11. H.R. 1689, House-passed texthttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr1689eh/html/BILLS-119hr1689eh.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Published Apr 16, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    House text requires designation until three months after January 20, 2029, April 20, 2029. The engrossed text records House passage, not enactment.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  12. Signed letter to President Trump urging a Haitian TPS extension, September 8, 2025 (document)

    Office of Rep. Mike Lawler · Published Sep 8, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    The original two-page letter, with Lawler and local officials signatures, asks the President to reconsider his TPS policy and renew Haiti designation. Dated September 8; office release September 9. Signature blocks were visually checked. No administrative outcome or receipt by the White House is inferred.

    official office record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  13. Clerk discharge petition No. 15 for H.Res. 965, consideration of H.R. 1689https://clerk.house.gov/DischargePetition/2026012215?Page=2

    Clerk of the U.S. House · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    The petition began January 22, 2026, with Ayanna Pressley as sponsor. Signature 165 is Michael Lawler, NY-17, March 4, 2026. It sought to discharge the Rules Committee from H.Res. 965 to allow consideration of H.R. 1689, not directly enact a TPS extension.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  14. Signed letter to Majority Leader Thune urging a Senate vote on H.R. 1689 (document)

    Office of Rep. Mike Lawler · Published Jul 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    The signed original is dated July 1, 2026, although the office release is July 6. It asks the Senate to take up and pass the bill. Figures and court characterizations in the letter are not adopted as independently verified facts.

    official office record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  15. DHS July 2024 Haiti TPS extension and redesignation (document)

    Federal Register / U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Published Jul 1, 2024 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    July 1, 2024 notice extends/redesignates Haiti TPS for eighteen months to February 3, 2026. This is an administrative act distinct from H.R. 1689 and later court-adjusted status.

    official office record

    For: Mike Lawler: record does not settle this

  16. H.R. 5717 (118th Congress), No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Acthttps://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5717

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsor Nick LaLota; Lawler an original cosponsor. Passed the House September 20, 2024. Not enacted.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  17. H.R. 5717 as passed by the Househttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr5717eh/html/BILLS-118hr5717eh.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Published Sep 20, 2024 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sec. 3 makes a sanctuary jurisdiction ineligible for federal funds it intends to use for migrants without lawful status.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  18. House Roll Call 437, 2024: H.R. 5717, on passagehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024437

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    September 20, 2024. Carried 219-186. Lawler is recorded Yea.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  19. H.R. 2 (118th Congress), Secure the Border Act of 2023https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsor Mario Diaz-Balart. Passed the House May 11, 2023. Not enacted.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  20. H.R. 2 as passed by the Househttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr2eh/html/BILLS-118hr2eh.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Published May 11, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Includes "Immediate resumption of border wall construction" and a title headed "Asylum reform and border protection."

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  21. House Roll Call 209, 2023: H.R. 2, on passagehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023209

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    May 11, 2023. Carried 219-213. Lawler is recorded Yea.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  22. S. 5 (119th Congress), Laken Riley Acthttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5

    Congress.gov · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsor Katie Britt. Passed the House January 22, 2025. Became Public Law 119-1.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  23. Public Law 119-1, Laken Riley Acthttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ1/html/PLAW-119publ1.htm

    U.S. Government Publishing Office · Published Jan 29, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Signed January 29, 2025. Sec. 2 requires a detainer and custody for migrants who are inadmissible and are charged with, arrested for or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting or assaulting a law enforcement officer.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction

  24. House Roll Call 23, 2025: S. 5, on passagehttps://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202523

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    January 22, 2025. Carried 263-156. Lawler is recorded Yea.

    official legislative record

    For: Mike Lawler: Matches stated direction