A new and surprising measure has been introduced to Congress by a cross-party group of congressmen, including Republican María Elvira Salazar and Democrat Verónica Escobar which is meant to create a new legal pathway for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. In these convulse ties led, once again by Donald Trump, this measure is another act of defiance against his revamped deportation polices. The measure, called the Dignity Act, seems to be a bipartisan effort this time around and already has a dozen co-sponsors trying to push it through the chamber.
Unlike other bills of this nature, this one creates a legal pathway to stay in the country but does not establish a path towards citizenship, which potentially makes it a bit more likely to be supported by some of the more staunch republicans in the House. 27th District Florida Republican Representative Salazar emphasized that the beauty of this bell lies on the fact that there will be no more need to pick between amnesty or deportation thanks to the Dignity Act as it provides a perfect middle ground to allow those who are not in the country legally a way to stay and contribute without all the perks of citizenship.
The Dignity Act seeks to regularize millions of immigrants in the United States.
The Dignity Act has a lot of provisions to deal with illegal immigrants in the U.S, but the measure that most people will be concerned about because of its current relevance is the Dignity Program, a legal instrument that would open the door for undocumented immigrants who resided in the United States before 2021 to apply for a temporary permit valid for seven years.
With this permit, deportation would be staved off for at least that long and those who benefit from the program could then potentially either continue to renew this exemption or try to find another legal alternative to stay in the country past that point, although not citizenship. But that does not mean that everyone that has been in the country for more than five years would qualify, on the contrary, they would have to meet some hefty criteria.
To qualify, individuals must meet a series of requirements like pass a criminal background check, pay their taxes on time, and pay a total of $7,000 in “restitution” during the authorized period. They would also need to periodically register with the Department of Homeland Security. Once this initial period is over, beneficiaries could renew their legal status indefinitely, although they would not be granted access to federal programs nor would they be given a path to U.S. citizenship.
Despite opposition to immigration by a large part of the current political class, the bill aims to balance the need for immigration order that the population that voted for Trump seems to want with the reality that labor that is cheap and easily exploitable is needed in most of the farming communities around the country. Additionally, most of the people that would be eligible to apply for this new protected status have been in the country for years, as Salazar mentions, “Millions work in key sectors and have lived here for decades. This is not a shortcut, but a responsible way to sustain the economy.”
But this is not the only important measure written into the Dignity Act. It also outlines funding for enhanced border enforcement and significant immigration reforms and it mandates the use of E-Verify for all employers. It aims to accelerate asylum decisions to within 60 days, and sets aside $70 billion for workforce development programs benefiting American workers which are designed to balance the expanded labor rights granted to legal immigrants under the plan.