Congress passes immigration bills with path to citizenship for TPS, "Dreamers" and farmworkers

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. The two bills that passed on Thursday are the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

In a vote of 228 to 197, the House first moved to set up a permanent legal pathway for more than 2.5 million undocumented immigrants, including those brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, and others granted Temporary Protected Status for humanitarian reasons

The U.S. Citizenship Act, which would provide legal status to almost all undocumented immigrants in the country, provide money to secure ports of entry and speed up the processing of asylum claims, expand legal immigration and pump $4 billion into Central American countries that have sent a flood of asylum seekers northward to the U.S. border in recent years.

The first would largely apply to those immigrants, known as Dreamers, who are protected under former President Barack Obama's 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. About 2.5 million people who arrived to the U.S. as children would be eligible for a path to citizenship under the law, according to its authors.

The second bill would provide a path to legal status for farm workers who are in the country illegally, estimated to be at least half of the 2.4 million workers in the sector. Some agricultural workers would be permitted to gain a green card if they pay a fine and stay in the industry for an additional four to eight years, depending on how long they had already been doing farm work.

President Biden Statement hours after the passing of HR6.

"In every generation, America has been enriched and strengthened by wave after wave of new immigrants. Dreamers and TPS holders, for whom the United States is home, are part of our national fabric, and make vital contributions to communities across the country every day. Many have worked tirelessly on the frontlines throughout this pandemic to keep our country afloat, fed, and healthy—yet they are forced to live with fear and uncertainty because of their immigration status.

The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 is a critical first step in reforming our immigration system and will provide much needed relief to TPS holders and Dreamers, young people who came here as children and know no other country. I support this bill, and commend the House of Representatives for passing this important legislation.

My Administration looks forward to working together with Congress to do the right thing for Dreamers and TPS holders who contribute so much to our country, and to 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, tackle the root causes of migration to the United States and to create a path to citizenship for the undocumented population in the United States."

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