House Passes Bill That Could Provide A Pathway To Citizenship For Many Undocumented Immigrants

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives recently passed a bill that could provide a pathway to citizenship for more than 1 million undocumented immigrants.

The measure dubbed the “Dream and Promise Act of 2019,” was introduced in March. According to reports, it’s intended to address beneficiaries of the DACA program and two other programs, Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure- which offer temporary relief. 

The bill passed by a large margin 237-187 and while the Dems secured the bill’s passage in the House, the measure is unlikely to become law anytime soon ahead of a presidential election year.  

According to CNN, the vote comes nearly a month after Trump introduced a plan to overhaul the country’s immigration system. Even if it were passed in the Republican-controlled Senate, it probably would not be signed by Trump who is seeking to end these sorts of programs. 

But still, the passage is being considered a success for Democrats after a federal judge denied a request on Monday to block Trump from transferring funds from appropriated accounts to construct the wall he insists on building. 

The bill provides a greater sense of security to a large sector of undocumented immigrants whose fate has been tied up in the US court system. 

It could provide some reprieve to ”Dreamers” by allowing those who qualify to gain lawful permanent residency status, which is usually out of the question for many undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors.

The bill would grant DACA recipients with conditional permanent resident status for up to 10 years. The criteria is similar to what DACA recipients have to meet, including not having been convicted of a felony.  

Similarly, TPS or DED holders would also be given the opportunity to gain lawful permanent resident status as long as they have resided in the US for at least three years and don’t have a felony conviction or more than one misdemeanor conviction.

The measure now heads to the Senate.