The House of Representatives just passed a sweeping immigration reform bill which would provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients
- The House of Representatives passed the Dream and Promise Act, which would significantly expand protections for DACA recipients and other immigrants looking for legal status, including permanent citizenship.
- The bill passed 237-187 with seven Republicans crossing the aisle and joining Democrats.
- The Republican-led Senate is unlikely to take up the legislation.
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WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives passed an overhaul of current immigration laws that would grant legal status and citizenship to nearly 2.5 million illegal immigrants.
The Dream and Promise Act, which is more sweeping than the original DREAM Act that repeatedly failed during the last Congress under Republican control, would create a very different system for individuals benefiting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and more.
The bill passed 237-187 with seven Republicans crossing the aisle and joining Democrats.
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The Dream and Promise Act aims to implement several key reforms for DACA recipients, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients from Liberia.
Under the plan, the TPS and DED immigrants could immediately apply for green cards as long as they have been in the United States since 2016. After five years with a green card, they could then apply for US citizenship.
For the DACA recipients, who came to the US illegally while they were minors, the process would include first applying for conditional permanent residency. The requirements for that entail entering the US before the age of 18 and having been stateside for the last four years, no felony criminal record or a combination of three misdemeanors that resulted in more than 90 days of jail time, and have a high school diploma or GED.
DACA recipients would also be afforded a pathway to citizenship through eventually applying for a green card or in other ways, including military service.
The bill is unlikely to see a vote in the Senate, which is still controlled by Republicans. But the bill's passage provides a window into how Democrats aim to make significant reforms if they manage to take back the White House and keep their House majority.
The proposals in the bill are much more comprehensive than passed attempts to provide a permanent solution for DACA recipients. Attempts to use DACA reforms as a bargaining chip on other legislation repeatedly failed during the last Congress, now House Democrats are passing standalone packages, which will likely never make it to President Donald Trump's desk.