A border officer checks a passport at the Tijuana-US border crossing.
Omar Martinez | images alliance | Getty Images
Democrats in Congress are expected to present a comprehensive immigration bill backed by President Joe Biden on Thursday.
In a call with reporters late on Wednesday, Biden government officials previewed the legislation. According to the authorities, the proposed bill, among other provisions, would:
- Establish an 8-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US on January 1
- Provides a quick path to citizenship for agricultural workers and undocumented youth who arrived in the US as children with temporary protection status under DACA
- Replace the word “foreigner” with “non-citizen” in the law
- Increase country limits on family and job-based legal immigration numbers
- Repeal the sentence that prohibits undocumented immigrants who leave the country to return to the United States for a period of three to ten years.
- Expand transnational anti-drug task forces in Central America
- Increase funding for technology on the southern border
The path to citizenship would give undocumented immigrants five years of provisional status, after which they can apply for a green card. Three years later, they can apply for citizenship.
Undocumented immigrants protected by DACA and farm workers who can provide work history can skip five years of provisional status and “go directly to the green card,” said a senior government official on the call.
The main sponsors, Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., Are due to release the full text of the US Citizenship Act 2021 on Thursday.
The project will reflect the priorities outlined by the president in an executive order on his first day in office. Biden also signed an executive action ending the state of emergency on the southern border and halting projects to build the border wall.
Although Democrats have a small majority in both chambers of Congress, the legislation would require a minimum of 10 Republican votes to defeat a Senate obstructionist.
Biden and Congress are turning their attention to infrastructure as Covid’s relief bill moves towards completion, so it’s unclear how much the government and Democrats will prioritize passing immigration reform.
When asked whether the president would support the abolition of obstruction in the Senate or the use of a budget reconciliation process that would require only a simple majority, Biden government officials did not respond directly.
“It is too early to speculate on this now,” said a White House official. “We want to first give in to our sponsors of this bill on what is possible and look at the leadership in Hill on how they want to move immigration.”
Congress has not passed a large, comprehensive immigration reform bill in decades. In 2013, a bipartisan bill passed the Senate led by Democrats, but was never considered in the House controlled by Republicans.
At the time, Republican conservatives in the House were opposed to a broad path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and were against comprehensive legislation, favoring a fragmented approach that prioritized border security. Former Republican President John Boehner did not present the bill for a vote.