DELMARVA-The White House announced a new proposed immigration bill early Thursday morning that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for about 11 million immigrants who have already been in the U.S., and speed that process for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Known as the 'Citizenship Act of 2021,' the bill proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration alongside other Democrats is set to include an eight-year pathway instead of the previous 13 years to acquire citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who have been in the country since before Jan. 1, 2021.
Spouses, partners and children under the age of 21 of lawful permanent residents would then be exempt from certain annual caps.
"No one really wants to leave their family and their beautiful land where they are born," said Rosario “Charito" Calvachi-Mateyko, co-chair of the Delaware Hispanic Commission. "They have to, that's why they come here, it's not a choice of, you know of fashion. It is a statement of how bad the circumstances are where they live."
The bill would add resources for border screening and also seeks to set up refugee processing in Central America--creating a safer path to immigration, advocates say. The Biden administration would create a separate $4 billion investment plan in the region.
According to NBC News, young people eligible for the Dream Act who are on a Temporary Protected Status, as well as farm workers who can demonstrate work history, can skip the five-year provisional status and 'go directly to the Green Card.'
DREAMer Tania Hernandez is a senior at Delaware State University (DSU) and she said the bill is very much needed for immigrants like herself, who came to the United States at just 6 years old, identifying more with the 'American' way of life than her parents' home country of Mexico. Hernandez clarified that although it does not grant amnesty as many DACA provisions don't cover key parts of life, it eliminates the fear of families being prosecuted because they now have a so-called legal guardian. Hernandez has been under DACA for the past six years and she said it's been an educational process debunking what DREAMers actually get in terms of benefits.
"Too many people, they're like 'oh DACA is amnesty, they're getting all these rights,' she explained, " and I have to stop a lot of people and be like no, the only thing that I get is a Social Security that only allows me to work, a driver's license that is only eligible, like eligible for the two years that I have my permit for, and I still pay taxes just like everyone else; the only differences is I don't get to see any of the Social Security benefits, the Medicaid or Medicare, any of that like everyone else does."
The legislation however, faces long odds in Congress, where Democrats would need the support of a minimum of 10 Republican votes to pass.
In fact, many Republicans say it won't pass without enhanced border security, something they say the bill does not mention. Senators like Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham have been critical of the plan.
Graham told NBC News Thursday, "the more people you legalize, the more things will be required to be given, so we’ll see. It starts a conversation. You just can’t legalize one group without addressing the underlying broken immigration system. You just incentivize more. So, a smaller deal may be possible.”
Calvachi-Mateyko also expressed some concerns.
"I think he [Biden] is not going all the way, as we call it, 'the whole enchilada,' she said. "It is not a comprehensive reform. He is going to package here and package there, but these things...they need to be done anyhow... If he does not push and put all his political power into us, this is lip service and we don't need that."
The bill also aims to replace the word "Alien" with "Noncitizen" in law as many human rights advocates have long argued that the term is a dehumanizing slur.
Congress has not passed a large, comprehensive immigration reform bill in decades, CNBC reports. There was a similar attempt back in 2013, where a bipartisan bill passed in the Senate but was not considered in the Republican-led House.
