Verdugos News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On May 10, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) joined Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-38), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), and other House Democratic leaders to introduce the U.S. Citizenship Act and respond to House Republicans’ H.R. 2, the Child Deportation Act.

The U.S. Citizenship Act includes bills authored by Rep. Chu, including the Reuniting Families Act, the NO BAN Act, and the POWER Act.

At the bill introduction’s press conference, she remarked:

I am thrilled to be here today for the introduction of this very important bill to modernize our immigration system. I want to thank my colleague Linda Sanchez for her leadership in assembling the U.S. Citizenship Act which is the framework we need to modernize and reform our broken immigration system.

And it is especially important now, as we face down a cruel, extremist Republican immigration proposal on the House floor this week. Republicans are seeking to decimate our asylum system and humanitarian protections, put more children and families in detention, cause chaos at our borders, and weaken our economy. 

But our U.S. Citizenship Act stands in stark contrast. It recognizes that that a robust, humane, and efficient immigration system makes America stronger. It includes so many Democratic priorities and many policies that the House passed in the last Congress—including a path to citizenship for all Dreamers, TPS holders, and farmworkers. And unlike the Republican proposal on the House floor this week, this bill is a serious proposal that would alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the southern border by addressing the root causes of migration and providing resources to humanely and efficiently process children and families who seek asylum in the U.S..

And I am especially proud that this package also puts families first by including provisions from my bill, the Reuniting Families Act. There are currently over 4 million people in the family immigration backlog waiting to reunite with loved ones. This bill would reduce the employment and family-based visa backlogs so families can be together without waiting years, and even decades, for their cases to wind their way through an antiquated system. And it would also provide protections from another bill I’ve championed, the NO BAN Act, which would prevent any future President from ever repeating the Trump Muslim ban by banning groups of people based on religion. 

Finally, we know that immigrants make up a significant portion of essential frontline workers in industries like healthcare, construction, and agriculture. But, despite how much this country depends on immigrant workers, some unscrupulous employers seek to exploit them, making them work extreme hours in difficult and dangerous conditions. And that’s why I am also proud that this Act would end this exploitation by including the POWER Act—my bill to protect immigrant workers who report unfair labor practices from deportation. 

By putting families and workers first, we can build a stronger economy. And by addressing the root causes of migration in a humane and efficient manner, we can secure our southern border. And so I look forward to working to move this legislation forward.

The U.S. Citizenship Act establishes a moral and economic imperative and a vision of immigration reform that is expansive and inclusive:

• Creates an earned roadmap to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants, providing Dreamers, TPS holders, and some farmworkers with an immediate path to citizenship, and providing all other undocumented immigrants who pass background checks and pay taxes with a five-year path to citizenship without fear of deportation.
• Reforms the family-based immigration system to keep families together by recapturing visas from previous years to clear backlogs, including spouses and children of green card holders as immediate family members, and increasing per-country caps for family-based immigration. It also eliminates discrimination facing LGBTQ+ families, provides protections for orphans, widows and children, and allows immigrants with approved family-sponsorship petitions to join family in the U.S. on a temporary basis while they wait for green cards to become available.
• Grows our economy by making changes to the employment-based immigration system, eliminating per-country caps, making it easier for STEM advanced degree holders from U.S. universities to stay, improving access to green cards for workers in lower-wage industries, giving dependents of H-1B holders work authorization, and preventing children of H-1B holders from aging out of the system. The bill also creates a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development and incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.
• Increases funding for immigrant integration initiatives and supports state and local governments, NGOs, and other community organizations that conduct inclusion programs, provide English language assistance, and make available naturalization resources to immigrant communities.
• Protects workers from exploitation and improves the employment verification process by requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor to establish a commission involving labor, employer, and civil rights organizations to help improve the employment verification process and granting workers who suffer serious labor violations greater access to U visa relief. The bill also strengthens wage protections for farm workers and increases penalties for violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Supports asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations by eliminating the one-year deadline for filing asylum claims, reducing asylum application backlogs, increasing protections for U visa, T visa, and VAWA applicants, including by raising the cap on U visas from 10,000 to 30,000.

The legislation also addresses the root causes of migration and prioritizes U.S. national security:

• Addresses the root causes of migration from Central America by funding the President’s four-year plan to increase assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras conditioned on their ability to reduce the corruption, violence, poverty, and famine that now causes people to flee.
• Creates safe and legal channels for people to seek protection, so they can apply for legal status in Central America instead of making the dangerous journey north. The bill also re-institutes the Central American Minors program to reunite children with U.S. relatives and creates a Central American Family Reunification Parole Program to more quickly unite families with approved family sponsorship petitions.
• Cracks down on bad actors by enhancing the ability to prosecute individuals involved in smuggling, narcotics and trafficking networks who are responsible for drugs flowing into our country and the exploitation of migrants. It will also expand transnational anti-gang task forces in Central America.
• Improves the immigration courts and protects vulnerable individuals by expanding family case management programs, reducing immigration court backlogs, expanding training for immigration judges, and improving technology for immigration courts. It also restores fairness and balance to our immigration system by providing judges and adjudicators with discretion to review cases and grant relief to deserving individuals, and also gives funding for school districts educating unaccompanied children.
• Modernizes and manages the border effectively through the use of technology that enhances our ability to detect contraband and counter transnational criminal networks since illicit drugs are most likely to be smuggled through legal ports of entry. It also authorizes and provides funding for plans to improve infrastructure at ports of entry to enhance the ability to process asylum seekers and detect, interdict, disrupt and prevent narcotics from entering the United States.
• Protects border communities by providing for additional rescue beacons to prevent needless deaths along the border, requiring agent training and oversight to investigate criminal and administrative misconduct, and requiring department-wide policies governing the use of force. It also authorizes and provides funding for DHS, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and nongovernmental experts, to develop guidelines and protocols for standards of care for individuals, families, and children in CBP custody.

Click here for the full text of the U.S. Citizenship Act.

Click here to view the press conference in full.

Issues: Immigration

Original source can be found here.