House Passes Two Immigration Bills Providing Pathway To Citizenship For Illegals And Dreamers

The Democrat-led House passed two immigration bills on Thursday to provide a path to citizenship for over 11 million illegal immigrants, including "Dreamers" brought to the country illegally as minors and farmworkers.

The American Dream and Promise Act passed on a 228 to 197 vote with nine Republicans, three of those from Florida in crossing party lines to support the measure. Those nine were: Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, David Valadao of California, Fred Upton of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Chris Smith of New Jersey and Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos Gimenez, and Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida.

"Each Dreamer has a unique story," Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) who authored the legislation said in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) weekly news conference. "They all exemplify American values and a deep love for the only nation they call home."

The measure would create a pathway to legal status for “Dreamers,” and grant conditional permanent resident status for 10 years and cancel removal proceedings if people meet certain requirements. Under the legislation, “Dreamers” could gain full lawful permanent resident status by either acquiring a degree from college, completing at least two years of military service, or being employed for at least three years where they had employment authorization for 75% of the time they were employed.

"It's not the perfect bill,” Salazar told reporters after the vote, according to the hill pool report. "I want to send the right message to the Democrats that I’m willing to work with them. Let’s see if now they’re going to work with us."

On Wednesday, Salazar led a group of nine GOP lawmakers in rolling out a Republican version of an immigration bill. The Dignity Plan includes providing immediate legal status for Dreamers, prioritizes border security that includes the federal funding for "an impenetrable border infrastructure system that should include enhanced physical barriers, employing the most up-to-date technology, and securing our ports of entry."

Salazar's legislation also provides a 10-year path to legal status for non-felon immigrants, while cracking down on abuse in the asylum system, improving processing for those that are fleeing persecution, and “enhance enforcement of immigration laws” to “ensure criminals are removed immediately.”

"As Hispanics, we don't want any more false promises, false hopes," Salazar said Wednesday, arguing that her legislation has a much better chance of making it through a 50-50 Senate.

"My Democrat colleagues have presented an immigration reform law that they know, they know will never become law in the way that it has been written. We want for those 11 million undocumented who are here in the country to be treated with dignity. But this will not happen, it will not happen, if we don’t stop the madness at the border with real, permanent solutions, not with executive orders."

"We have a crisis on our southern border, children are being trafficked, and we must do everything possible to fix our immigration system once and for all," the freshman Florida lawmaker added.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates that this act would benefit up to 4.4 million eligible people. The bill’s House sponsors estimated a smaller figure of 2.5 million based on the press release.

The second immigration bill -- the Farm Workforce Modernization Act also passed shortly after with the vote was 247 to 174. 30 Republicans voted for the measure and one Democrat voting in opposition,

The farm bill would create a process to allow more than 1 million undocumented farmworkers to earn temporary status as Certified Agricultural Workers for individuals who have worked at least 180 days in agriculture over the past 2 years. Spouses and children could also apply for temporary status under the act. The legislation would also create a pathway for workers to get a green card by paying a $1,000 fine and engaging in additional agricultural work, streamlining the process for one to obtain an H-2A visa, that allows foreign citizens into the country for temporary agricultural work.

The two House bills are separate from President Biden’s comprehensive immigration plan – the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 – an aggressive immigration reform focusing on three overarching initiatives —  path to citizenship, provisions to address the causes of migration, and border enforcement by using technology for security measures.

Biden’s proposed legislation that was supposed to be sent to Congress on Day One, calls for a faster pathway to citizenship in recent years for the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. Under the plan, the eight-year path to citizenship would offer undocumented immigrants to become eligible for legal permanent resident status after five years, and for U.S. citizenship after an additional three years.

In a statement after the votes, Biden called the action a "critical first step" toward a more sweeping overhaul he's proposed. The president said he wants to work with Congress toward “building a 21st-century immigration system that is grounded in dignity, safety, and fairness, and finally enacts the long-term solutions we need to create an orderly and humane immigration system."

"Americans recognize that our nation is enriched by the contributions of immigrants," Biden's Office of Management and Budget said in a statement of support ahead of the vote. The legislation is a "critical milestone toward much-needed relief for the millions of undocumented individuals who call the United States home."

The passage comes as Biden continues to wrestle with the soaring number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the Southern border. Many Republicans who voted against both bills said the measure was poorly timed due to the surge of illegals with the White House having no plans to control the crisis.

"During a press conference this morning, Speaker Pelosi had a sign up that said 'Home is here.' This is the wrong message at the wrong time," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in his weekly news conference ahead of the vote.