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 always, I stand with President Trump and fully support his policies to deport illegal aliens from the United States.Immigration law is a complex issue. Some of my comments have been taken out of context about guest worker visas, in which people take seasonal jobs for a few…— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) July 23, 2026
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.
