THE HOUSE’S BUDGET RECONCILIATION PACKAGE WOULD PROVIDE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR MANY IMMIGRANTS

The U.S. House’s budget reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship for many immigrants.

There are more than 11 million undocumented people in the U.S., according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that studies migration.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 6:30 AM.

WASHINGTON — A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people.

If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers; farmworker workers; those who hold a Temporary Protected Status, meaning they are unable to return to their countries; and essential workers. The Senate’s version also supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people, but doesn’t specify which groups would qualify.

There are more than 11 million undocumented people in the U.S., according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that studies migration.

If passed, the provision could affect dozens of states with high immigrant populations such as Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“Aside from being the moral thing to do, providing a pathway to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status for Dreamers, recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), farmworkers, and essential workers will be a boon for our economy,” according to the House’s 2022 budget resolution, which provides reconciliation instructions to all committees.

The Senate package provides the Senate Judiciary Committee with $107 billion for “lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants,” border security investments and the community violence intervention initiative. Lawmakers will have a soft deadline of Sept. 15.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said during a press conference that immigration reform would be included in the reconciliation package.

“I do believe that immigration should be in the reconciliation, some piece of that in the reconciliation,” Pelosi said.

Since the presidential election, immigration advocates have pushed for DACA to not only be written into law, but expanded to include family members of the recipients’, as well as wanting bigger reform on immigration policy.

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