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The American Right is up in arms over My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell’s proposed immigration amnesty plan, a policy that he revealed to the Washington Examiner in a Tuesday interview.
The Trump-endorsed Minnesota gubernatorial candidate wants to give illegal immigrants a one-time, six-month “moratorium” where they could apply for a conditional work visa that would let them stay in the United States indefinitely, provided they don’t commit a crime. That policy hasn’t won Lindell many friends in the conservative movement.
“I roundly reject this,” Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner. “It’s absurd — and he should withdraw it.”
When asked about Lindell’s immigration policy, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) quipped that she “thought he was clean from drugs.” Lindell founded My Pillow after overcoming a decadeslong cocaine addiction.
As right-wing criticism mounted, Lindell has repeatedly claimed that his plan has been taken out of context.
“When different news outlets asked me yesterday, one was the Washington Examiner, of course they sound bite stuff or they take things out, and then right away on social media: ‘Mike wants six-month amnesty,’” Lindell said on his newscast, Lindell TV.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Lindell to clarify his position. “There is no amnesty!! I done [sic] have a policy??? Not sure what you are talking about ??,” Lindell responded via text.
Yet, Lindell’s own 18-page “Conditional Visa Reset Program” memo, which describes itself as a “comprehensive policy framework with fiscal impact analysis,” uses the word “amnesty.”
“Based on prior amnesty literature and incentive analysis, a conservative 80 percent compliance rate is projected, yielding approximately 5.7 million [Worker Visa Card] holders from the eligible 7.1 million remaining after felon deportations (7.5M total workers minus 375K felons),” the memo reads.
Lindell told the Washington Examiner that the Conditional Visa Reset Program was a “federal program from May.” The memo is dated July 2026, however, and includes his name and campaign logo at the top.
Lindell added that the memo was “not my governor run or Minnesota. I cannot use that … it is a federal idea, but governors have no control over the immigration laws.”
The conservative backlash to Lindell’s proposal mirrors the response earlier this year to the bipartisan Dignidad Act, a federal immigration bill that stalled in Congress after Republicans and conservative activists blasted it as amnesty.
The Dignidad Act would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for at least five years to obtain legal status if they pass a criminal background check and pay $7,000 in restitution. Participants would have to renew their status every seven years and would be barred from receiving welfare benefits or U.S. citizenship.
Although Lindell’s proposal differs in its structure, both plans would allow certain illegal immigrants already in the country to remain legally, a concept that has become a political flashpoint among conservatives.
Lindell’s political opponents have invoked the proposal to edge him out of the gubernatorial race. The GOP primary will take place on Aug. 11.
Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Lisa Demuth, who along with Lindell is one of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination, shared the Washington Examiner’s story on X.
“Amnesty for illegals will only make Minnesota more of a magnet — I would expect this from Amy Klobuchar and Tim Walz, surprised to see it coming from a fellow GOP candidate for governor,” she wrote.
Businessman Kendall Qualls, who received the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement in the race, argued that the “last thing we need is a ‘Republican’ like Mike Lindell who supports amnesty.”
Even Lindell’s one-time allies are breaking from him over his immigration proposal.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has often hosted Lindell on his “War Room” podcast, rebuked Lindell after the story broke.
“Since we’re not going to have Mike Lindell on tonight and I need to do more homework on this bombshell he dropped this afternoon,” Bannon told viewers on Wednesday, just after Lindell hosted a forum to unveil his proposal. “I just want to give him a note: ‘I don’t think governors can mess with federal immigration law.’”
MIKE LINDELL PROPOSES SIX-MONTH AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IF ELECTED MINNESOTA GOVERNOR
Bannon added that he wanted to make sure that he had a “full understanding” of what Lindell said before discussing the immigration proposal further.
“WarRoom has been to leading platform for the Mass Deportation Movement since its inception while being adamantly opposed to any form of amnesty for illegal aliens,” Bannon told the Washington Examiner via text message. “These policies are foundational to MAGA in the fight to save the American Republic. There can be zero tolerance for those looking to gain office by compromising on the removal of illegal aliens.”
Lindell had joined Bannon to offer viewers free shipping during the My Pillow factory sale just a few hours before Bannon’s comments aired.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
