Reset Reason #1: Build a Positive Agenda that Attracts Voters

This essay is part of the Bay Area Republican Reset Project, an ongoing series focused on rebuilding a credible, solutions-oriented Republican Party in the Bay Area.

These days, politics is primarily defined by opposition. Republicans are against illegal immigration; progressives are against ICE; Democrats are against Trump. Here in San Francisco, NIMBYs are against YIMBYs, bike people are against car people—and everywhere, Democrats are against Republicans and Republicans are against Democrats.

Moreover, most political organizing energy comes from stoking exaggerated fear and resentment about what “they” want to do to “you.”

For example, here is MSNBC commentator Malcolm Nance discussing the Trump Administration: “They are radicalizing, arming, and planning to kill Americans to install a dictatorship. They must be stopped, hopefully before blood flows in earnest.”

For a similar example on the right, here is Elon Musk soon after Charlie Kirk was murdered: “The Left is the party of murder, and celebrating murder. I mean, let that sink in for a minute. That’s who we’re dealing with…Violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.”

Now I’m not saying that these claims are entirely meritless. Some post-liberal MAGA types would like to see a kind of dictatorship. As Charlie Kirk discovered, some people on the left do want to kill the leading lights of the right. Here in San Francisco, some YIMBYs would like to build a 25-story building in front of charming single-family Victorians. Vigilance is appropriate.

But too much of this negative energy is a one-way ticket to national political disintegration. We need to demand better from our leaders and ourselves. Bay Area Republicans, let’s take it upon ourselves to reverse this downward spiral right here, right now.

Let’s consider how we could do this with immigration. Americans did not like what they saw during the Biden Administration: thousands of illegal immigrants streaming in daily as the country failed to protect the border. To his credit, President Trump fixed that problem within days of his inauguration. What some observers described as impossible was accomplished in short order.

Now, however, the Trump Administration has moved much further. Federal officials say the Minneapolis enforcement surge is aimed primarily at undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and that it is larger and more disruptive than it would otherwise have to be because local officials won’t cooperate with ICE. This explanation is not without merit. When it comes to immigration enforcement, the lack of local cooperation in Democratic “sanctuary” cities—including refusing to honor ICE detainers for undocumented immigrants already in local custody—is a stain on this country’s commitment to the rule of law.

However, it is also fair to say that this operation has had a “show of force” quality to it, designed to demonstrate to the people of a Democratic-led city that the Trump-led federal government is in charge. Asylum seekers, lawful permanent residents, and even U.S. citizens have been detained during the operation. Heavily armed agents—projecting the posture of a paramilitary force—have been knocking down doors in residential neighborhoods and federal immigration agents have fatally shot at least two U.S. citizens, sparking protests. At the peak of the operation, there were five times more ICE and CBP officers in Minneapolis than members of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Regardless of where you may come down on this issue—who is at fault for the killings and whether the Trump Administration has pursued a wise path or not—the fact is that all of this enforcement and reaction is occurring in the context of a sustained failure on the part of the nation to establish a rational and defensible immigration policy.

Key question: how many of the roughly 14 million illegal immigrants in the country today should we attempt to remove?

If your answer is “all,” I have more questions for you. Are you prepared to see scenes of doors being busted down and families being separated all over the country, including here in the Bay Area? Are you OK with the labor shortages that are going to become more acute in service and agriculture industries? And are you prepared for the political party that pursues this policy to lose big time in the next election, as the population—including large numbers of Republicans—recoils from the police-state vibe that must inevitably accompany such a large-scale operation?

If your answer is “the criminals and recent arrivals,” then the path forward is easier to imagine.

Regardless of your answer, consider the dynamic that is ascendant in our country today. “Conflict entrepreneurs” on the left and right are stoking fear and anger for their own benefit. On the right, leaders demonize immigrants and cheer on heavy-handed enforcement operations designed in part to stoke fear in Democratic cities. On the left, leaders fail to acknowledge that countries need borders and disrespect the rule of law by interfering in legitimate law enforcement operations.

Bay Area Republicans, let’s help change this dynamic, starting right here in our own backyard. Let’s learn about efforts to enact comprehensive immigration reform, educate voters in the Bay Area, and develop a Bay Area Republican Immigration Proposal that articulates our aspirations for future legislation.

Our ideas can borrow from recent congressional work, including the Dignity Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill reintroduced in July 2025 by Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL). The bill starts from a premise many Americans share: the country needs secure borders and a realistic way to deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants already here. It pairs tougher border and asylum enforcement with an “earned dignity” program that allows long-term, non-criminal undocumented residents to register, work legally, pay taxes, and remain in the country under strict conditions—without an automatic path to citizenship.

Participants would have to pass background checks, pay restitution, and stay out of trouble, while criminals and recent arrivals would be prioritized for removal. In short, the Dignity Act tries to replace today’s performative extremes—mass-deportation fantasies on the right and enforcement denial on the left—with a framework that restores the rule of law, stabilizes the labor force, and lowers the political temperature by aligning policy with reality.

Imagine, Bay Area Republicans, if we had the organization and resources to develop a high-level consensus on this idea. What if we held public events in each of our counties, sought out public speaking opportunities, and reached out to members of Congress to push them to implement a plan like this? Now we’d be turning heads, building a positive agenda for immigration that can actually attract voters.

This would be a major shift in how our party operates in the Bay Area. Not everyone will agree on the details of immigration reform. But if we put a dozen central committee members and appointees into a working group and gave them clear principles to follow—such as seeking solutions that can attract independents while remaining acceptable to a majority of Bay Area Republicans—we are likely to produce something most of us can be proud of, and that serves both our party and our country in this time of deep division.

In conclusion, if Bay Area Republicans want to be taken seriously again—by voters, by the media, and by ourselves—we have to stop defining ourselves primarily by what we oppose and start showing that we have credible ideas for governing in a complex, pluralistic society. That means trading outrage for policy work, identity signaling for persuasion, and tribal loyalty for a positive vision. Immigration won’t be solved by the people who shout the loudest or demand the most extreme solutions. It will be solved by balancing borders with humanity, enforcement with realism, and law with legitimacy. If we can do that here—publicly and constructively—we’ll be modeling the kind of Republican politics that can earn trust again in the Bay Area and beyond.