There is new hope for immigration reform when this week the Dignity Act
was proposed by Representative Salazar of the Republican Party.
The bill aims to offer a path to citizenship for the 11 million
undocumented immigrants already in the US while simultaneously strengthening
security at the southern border to prevent further unauthorized entries.
Stay tuned because we are going to take a closer
look at what's in this bill and the likelihood of it
passing as well as the special provision it has for Dreamers and TPS holders.
And if you are new to my channel, please be sure to subscribe
and turn on notifications for regular immigration news updates.
What is the Dignity Act?
And how would it help
the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the United States?
The Dignity Act is a new bill that was proposed
by Republican Representative
Maria Elvira Salazar, a first term congresswoman from Miami, Florida.
It was first introduced in the House of Representatives on February 8th,
and it is reportedly designed to stop illegal immigration,
provide a dignified solution for immigrants living inside America,
and strengthen the American workforce and economy.
The bill offers protections
for undocumented individuals through two new proposed programs
called the Dignity Program and the Redemption Program.
The Dignity Program
would be available to undocumented individuals who have been in the U.S.
for at least five years.
Participants would have to pass
a background check and have a job or serve as a family caregiver.
Assuming they meet these criteria, they would be enrolled in a ten year
program that would provide work authorization and protection
from removal proceedings as long as they continue to meet certain conditions
which include: compliance with all federal and state laws, checking in with DHS
every two years, and paying $1,000 a year in restitution.
Once someone completes the ten-year Dignity program, they would be eligible
for the Redemption Program, which offers a pathway to permanent legal status.
The Redemption Program requires the person to learn English and U.S.
civics and participate in community service or volunteer work
before being considered eligible for citizenship.
These applicants will
then be at the back of the line when applying for a naturalization.
The Dignity Act also proposes a permanent solution for undocumented
immigrants brought to the U.S.
as children, commonly known as Dreamers.
It would allow them and TPS holders to adjust their status to lawful
permanent residency through an immediate and streamlined process.
In an effort to attract Republican votes, the Dignity Act also outlines a number
of border security and enforcement initiatives and requires that they happen
first before any of the bill's other measures are implemented.
These initiatives include: hiring 3000 new border security personnel,
implementing new border technology, increasing
funding for physical border infrastructure, and increasing
criminal penalties for unauthorized border crossings.
It would also mandate the national use of E-Verify,
the government electronic system used to verify that businesses
are employing people legally authorized to work in the US.
New regional processing
centers would also be built at the border to detain families seeking asylum
and would require them to stay there until their asylum claims are decided.
It is also proposing to hire 1700 new court personnel to process
these cases more quickly.
What do you think?
is helping millions of undocumented
individuals gain citizenship worth the trade offs required in this bill?
Leave me a comment and let me know.
So how is the Dignity Act different from other attempts
at immigration reform that we have talked about on this channel?
The most important difference is the likelihood of bipartisan support.
Unlike the build back better reconciliation bill that received
no Republican support, the Dignity Act is being proposed by Republicans,
making it likely to be supported by other members of the party.
Representative Salazar's proposals of the bill highlights
the divide within her party between those who want the GOP to lead
on immigration reform as a way to strengthen the economy, and the more
radical side who are increasingly vocal against immigration as a whole.
So it's unclear if she will be able to gain enough support
from members of her own party to pass the bill, And Democrats are skeptical
of the motives behind it, saying that it's a political guise
designed merely to help build Hispanic support for certain vulnerable
Republican incumbents in November's midterm elections.
If you want to hear more about immigration reform,
check out my last video on Democrats recent proposals
to create a new type of visa and exemptions from annual visa
limits for skilled workers, potentially reducing the visa backlog.
I will also continue bringing you additional immigration news
as it's available, so be sure to subscribe and turn on the notifications
if you haven't done so yet.
Click here to watch this video next, and I'll see you there.