In a recently held interview, Republican Texas State Representative John Lujan, a congressional candidate, has vocally begun to distance himself from President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.
Lujan, who is running for Congress in Texas’ newly drawn 35th district, opined on his desire to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
“I think we need a strong border,” Lujan said in an interview with NOTUS. “But the other thing that really bothers me is that some of the people that are here that have been great citizens—family, history, businesses—we can’t just throw those people over.”
While supporting the deportation of aliens who have committed a crime in addition to illegally crossing the border, Lujan expressed a desire to simply fine illegal border crossers before granting them citizenship, essentially creating an amnesty.
“The people that are doing well, we need to make sure that we have a pathway for them,” Lujan continued “I’m not saying a freebie, put some fines on there, but have something in place for them.”
According to Lujan’s campaign website, “securing the border” is first in his list of priorities.
Despite his claims for a strong commitment to sensible immigration policy, Texans for Strong Borders, an advocacy group that seeks to promote America First immigration policies, rates Lujan as one of the weakest Republicans on the issue in the Texas legislature.
Chris Russo, president of Texans for Strong Borders, said of Lujan that “this record on border security and immigration policy is anything but America First. Voters in the 35th Congressional District would be wise to inform themselves of Lujan’s record on these key issues for our state and decide if they believe he is the best their district has to offer.”
In this piece, State Rep. John Lujan, who is running for Congress in CD 35, calls for amnesty for illegal aliens and calls them “great citizens.” https://t.co/XiJpWr18WT
— Texans for Strong Borders (@StrongBordersTX) January 30, 2026
Lujan hasn’t been shy about his disagreements with President Trump in the past. In 2018, Lujan parroted a leftist talking point when he stated that “[Trump] could tamp down on the tweeting a little bit. In October of 2022, Lujan expressed that Trump contributed to his electoral failure, saying that Trump’s “general divisiveness” played a role in his loss.
Townhall reached out to the campaign of Rep. John Lujan for comment but did not receive a response.
Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.
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