Mike Lindell is under fire from conservatives after unveiling an immigration proposal that critics say clashes with President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation agenda.
The Trump-endorsed MyPillow founder, who is running for the Republican nomination for Minnesota governor, released an 18-page plan last week outlining sweeping federal immigration reforms. The proposal would create a temporary legal status for some illegal immigrants while increasing enforcement against criminals and employers who violate the law.
Speaking with the Washington Examiner, Lindell said his proposal is rooted in giving nonviolent illegal immigrants an opportunity to remain in the workforce.
“I met with the illegals down in San Diego,” Lindell said. “I met with a lot of them and I heard their stories.”
The document describes the proposal as a “fiscally responsible, legally grounded, and operationally achievable alternative to mass deportation.”
That language sparked immediate backlash from conservative media outlets and Lindell’s Republican primary rivals, who argued the plan amounts to amnesty.
“I am shocked to see something like that coming out from a Republican candidate,” Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is challenging Lindell in the GOP primary, said during a Thursday interview on WDAY radio. “It flies in the face of what President Trump has done.”
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The proposal also drew attention because immigration policy is controlled by the federal government, not the office of Minnesota governor.
Under Mike Lindell’s plan, illegal immigrants convicted of felonies or gross misdemeanors would be deported immediately. Those without serious criminal records would have a six-month window to apply for a conditional work visa that would allow them to remain in the country legally as long as they stayed employed and avoided further criminal convictions.
MN Republican candidate for governor Mike Lindell lays out immigration plan: “Anyone who is here that’s an illegal immigrant gets a conditional non-resident visa. You have six months to do that. You’re not a citizen, but you don’t have to leave ever.” pic.twitter.com/C8pJ0PDOVB
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 23, 2026
Once the six-month period ends, businesses that continue employing illegal immigrants outside the new system would face criminal penalties, while those workers would become subject to deportation.
The proposal also calls for employers to report all cash payments made to employees and would require English proficiency to obtain a driver’s license.
The plan does not include a pathway to U.S. citizenship. It also would bar participants from collecting federal entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, despite paying taxes into those systems.
The proposal amounts to a temporary pause on deportations for eligible illegal immigrants while they register, a framework that critics say conflicts with Trump’s mass deportation agenda. It was released just one week after Trump endorsed Lindell‘s gubernatorial campaign.
Notably, the 18-page document never mentions the state of Minnesota or explains how a governor could implement the federal immigration reforms it proposes.
As criticism mounted, Lindell appeared to distance himself from the way the proposal was being characterized, insisting it is not an amnesty plan.
He later posted on X reaffirming his support for Trump’s immigration agenda.
“As always, I stand with President Trump and fully support his policies to deport illegal aliens from the United States,” he wrote, a statement critics said appeared to contradict portions of the proposal released earlier that day.
Minnesota’s Republican primary election is Aug. 11.
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