The news from the United States on Thursday 18 March, brought joy to the faces of millions of immigrants living in the United States without legal permission. The House passed 2 proposals that would legalize around eleven million immigrants living illegally in the US. These proposals would create a track to citizenship for the subset of those who are living in the US without legal permission.
If signed into law, the illegal immigrants will be able to get a permanent residency of 10 years subject to eligibility criteria.
These two proposals are as given below:
- The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021
- The Form workforce Modernization Act of 2021
With nine Republicans, all House Democrats voted in favor of passing the American Dream and Promise Act, which was passed by a vote of 228 to 197. The Democratic-led House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, with 247 to 174 votes.
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021
This proposal will allow obtaining permanent residency and US citizenship with around 2.3 million “Dreamers” or illegal migrants who arrive at the U.S as minors and beneficiaries of specific temporary humanitarian plans.
The Form workforce Modernization Act of 2021
This act would provide legal status to thousands of farmworkers living illegally in the US. In addition that Mr. Biden’s plan to authorize most of the country’s undocumented people has been met with broad Republican rejection, the stand-alone proposals may represent Democrats’ healthy opportunity of getting immigration legalization via the evenly split Senate.“
With the approval of this law, the American Dream and Promise Act would make beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Children Arrival (DACA) scheme and other undocumented immigrants brought into the country under the age of 18 to apply for a ten-year period of conditional permanent residence if they fulfill the complete requirements.
The last estimate released by the Office of Immigration Statistics at DHS came in December 2018: As of January 1, 2015, there were 11.96 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
President Joe Biden, who supports both bills, said in a statement after approval of the Farmworker initiative that it would “provide legal status and better working conditions that deserving officers deserve, as well as there will be much-needed stability for farmers, cultivators, and the whole the agro-industry. “Biden added that his administration was committed to “meeting the needs of our essential workers, bringing maximum dignity and security to our agricultural sector, and ultimately implementing a safe, orderly, and long-term solution.” Ready to work with the Human Immigration System, also focusing on the root causes of migration.
Eligibility Criteria to apply for permanent residence
The candidate would be able apply for permanent residence if they:
- Obtained a college degree, or
- Enrolled in a Bachelor’s program for 2 years, or
- Performed minimum 2 years of duty in Army, or
- Has been working in the US for 3 years
At least 296,000 immigrants living in the US with Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, and 2 provisional types of humanitarian relief, would ultimately qualify to apply for permanent residence under the proposal if they fulfill the eligibility requirements. The major requirements include having lived in the United States for minimum 3 years.
The Dream Act will also allow children with temporary U.S. work visas to adjust their status to those caught in the green card process based on long-term employment. Due to legal complications, Democrats, bureaucrats, advocates, and many politicians believe that the Dream Act should be passed as soon as possible, although Mr. Biden called off the repeal of former President Trump’s DACA.
As for as Farm Workforce Modernization Act is concerned, if the farmworkers have worked a minimum of 6 months in the US during a two-year time period will be eligible to apply for a temporary and renewable immigration position. Potential workers would be permitted to apply for a green card if they complete 4 or 8 years of additional agricultural work, depending on whether they have performed this work for 10 years.
The proposal was presented by Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse, would do many changes to the H-2A visa scheme for agriculture workers, including making visa valid for 3 years. In Feb 2021 congressional Democrats revealed a broad immigration overhaul suggestion based on an outline drafted by Mr. Biden’s team with developing legal immigration investing in Central America and refocusing border controls, the proposal will create a great, two-tier legalization plan for a boarding group of immigrants living in the United States without registration.
Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and farmers would ultimately qualify for green cards, but other unregistered immigrants could apply for temporary legal status. The latter group could request green cards after 5 years with the interim position.
What is TPS?
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary status granted to eligible citizens of designated countries in the United States. As of 2017, about 320,000 people have TPS, the majority from El Salvador (195,000), Honduras (57,000), and Haiti (46,000).