Congress recently passed a bill that includes a blueprint regarding how legislation will be drawn for a pathway to citizenship and the issuance of green cards for millions of people. The bill is a resolution on what the federal government should “spend” and “receive” in revenue over the next fiscal year. The resolution has set a deadline of September 15, 2021, for the Senate Judiciary committee to lay out the fine details of the bill. As of now, there is no specifications on who is eligible for this benefit. The bill aims to provide lawful permanent status for qualified immigrants and green cards to millions of immigrant workers and families. This could include dreamers, migrant farmworkers plus those who hold temporary protected status who are unable to return to their home country.

Some Senators want the bill to only apply to Dreamers who are already enrolled in the DACA program, which will significantly reduce the number of people benefiting from the bill as it sets aside the DACA recipients who were excluded during the Trump administration. Many DACA recipients were excluded because, on July 16, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that DACA is unlawful, finding it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The court’s decision bars the U.S. government from approving new DACA applications but leaves DACA intact for those who are already a part of the program. Existing DACA recipients are able to continue to renew their DACA every two years as required, as long as the court’s order is in effect. Therefore, the DACA program has been repeatedly challenged since it was first created in 2012 and these shortcomings did highlight the continued need for congressional action to establish a pathway for citizenship.

ILBSG remains hopeful that this recent resolution will motivate our lawmakers to swiftly come together to finally pass meaningful immigration reform in this area (before the September 15, 2021 deadline), to end the uncertainty towards the path to citizenship. If you have any questions on how this may affect your position, contact us at ILBSG. We are here to work with you to get you the right advice.

Budget Resolution immigration Immigration Reform