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Two bills that would help immigrants brought to the United States as children and migrant farm workers gain legal status were voted by the House to pass Thursday.
First, the Democrat-majority House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would set up a permanent legal pathway for more than 2.5 million undocumented immigrants including people brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers.
The American Dream and Promise Act also provides a path to citizenship for people granted Temporary Protected Status for humanitarian reasons. The 228-197 vote was mostly down party lines, with the majority of Republicans voting against the measure.
The lawmakers then passed another measure that would help close to a million farmworkers and their families gain legal status, while updating the key H-2A agricultural visa program.
This time, 30 Republicans, many representing agriculture-heavy districts, joined nearly every Democrat to vote in favor of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the New York Times reported.
The votes were significant milestones for the Dreamers and other activists who have waged a decade-long campaign to bring the about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States out of the shadows.
The two measures, however, are not likely to advance in the evenly divided Senate. Most bills need the support of 60 senators to overcome a procedural obstacle and advance to a floor vote, and the senate is split 50-50 Democrats to Republicans.
That means the immigration measures would join a growing number of liberal bills that have passed the House but are destined to falter because of Republican opposition in the Senate, the New York Time reported.
They include a landmark expansion of voting rights, new gun control measures, significant pro-labor legislation, the L.G.B.T.Q. Equality Act, the Violence Against Women Act, which is opposed by the National Rifle Association, and more.
The bills would have no impact on border enforcement. However, Republicans argue any move to grant legal status to immigrants who came to the country unlawfully in the past would only fuel an increase in such future migration.
The votes come as the Biden administration faces challenges at the border, where an influx of unaccompanied migrant minors have strained government resources, with President Biden enlisting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support border officials in managing the arrivals.
Republicans have seized on the situation as an example of the negative consequences of Democratic immigration policies, making immigration reform look less attractive.
However, both the immigration reform measures passed Thursday are broadly supported by advocacy groups. The American public also overwhelmingly backs a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the United States as children.
The American Dream and Promise Act would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, promising permanent legal status in exchange for higher education, work or military service.
The bill would also include hundreds of thousands of people with Temporary Protected Status, granted to immigrants from countries devastated by natural disaster or violence, and those with Deferred Enforced Departure status, who are often people who would face danger if they went back to their home country.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act is for the many migrant agricultural workers who grow and harvest much of the country’s food supply.
It is the product of lengthy bipartisan negotiations, the New York Times reported. It would create a program for farmworkers and their families to gain legal status if they continue to work in agriculture and pay a $1,000 fine.
It would also change the temporary agricultural worker visa program to stabilize wage fluctuation, and institute a national program for employers to confirm individuals are qualified to work.
What do you think about the two bills passed in the House Thursday? Let us know in the comments!
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One thought on House Votes to Give Dreamers and Immigrant Farm Workers Path to Citizenship
I think we should figure out how to start filling class action lawsuits against our government for not protecting the interest of the American people. Wasting tax payers money on illegal aliens. Plus using illegal aliens to advance their narrative for cheap labor, a new form of slavery. Hindering the lives of the lower class we already have in the US by taking away jobs. Making our country unsafe to live in. These administration is getting out of hand.