On Tuesday, the House passed an immigration reform bill that would provide a path to citizenship for over two million immigrants in the U.S. illegally, including many of those identified as “Dreamers” who were brought to the U.S. as children.
The bill passed 237 to 187, with seven Republicans voting with Democrats, The Washington Post reported.
The nitty gritty
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 would give 10 years of legal residence status to undocumented immigrants that meet certain requirements. Immigrants can then get permanent green cards if they’ve completed at least two years of higher education or military service, or if they have worked in the U.S. for at least three years.
Former President Barack Obama had granted many of these illegal immigrants work permits through the DACA program during his time in office, but President Donald Trump let that program expire when he took office.
Democrats cheered after the bill was passed, with some chanting, “Yes we can!”
“This is legislation that is consistent with who we are as Americans, as an aspirational people, as a nation of immigrants and as a place where people can come to pursue the American Dream,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said before the vote.
Republicans who voted against the bill argued that it would cost more than $30 billion and was not funded under the current budget. They also said that it didn’t address border security or changes to asylum laws.
Immigrants in limbo
Since DACA work permits expired in 2017, illegal immigrants have been in limbo while their fate is discussed by Congress, Trump, and the courts. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has deported some illegal immigrants who were found to have been arrested or who violated U.S. law while in the country, but many others have been left alone to wonder how their situation might be handled by those in government.
House Democrats have said they hope the new legislation will be brought up in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to help address this issue. “There should be nothing partisan or political about this legislation,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said at a news conference.
But the bill was not mentioned by McConnell or other Republican leaders at the Senate weekly press conference. Trump has previously expressed support for Dreamers getting citizenship, but only along with full border wall funding and other immigration reforms.
Four separate immigration reform bills were rejected by the Senate last year.
Indeed, with Republicans and Democrats approaching the ongoing immigration crisis from widely different and often opposite directions, it seems a solution is far-fetched. And with Democrats refusing to address Republican concerns, it looks like that won’t be changing any time soon.
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