May 23, 2023

Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) plan to introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation to provide a pathway to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants, revamp asylum processing, and slash visa backlogs.

Specifically, the legislation would create a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients or “Dreamers” who were brought to the United States as children and have lived in the country continuously for three years prior to the bill’s enactment. The legislation would also offer a path to permanent residency for recipients of Temporary Protected Status, which offers deportation relief and work permits to immigrants from countries in crisis. The measure would also create a seven-year “dignity program” that would permit other undocumented immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. but would not put them on a path to citizenship. Individuals in the “dignity program” would need to pay restitution to participate, with those funds being used to support American workers. Immigrants who complete the dignity program may have the option to enter an additional five-year program, and pay more restitution, to become a permanent resident.

In addition to new pathways to citizenship, the legislation would also direct Homeland Security to construct “humanitarian campuses” in high-traffic border areas to process asylum seekers, provide Homeland Security with $25 billion for border infrastructure, and raise the limit on green cards to alleviate backlogs.

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