Miami -Congressmen María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Verónica Escobar (D-TX) once again presented the law dignity, a legislative project that tries to break with forty years of stagnation in immigration matters in the country.
The initiative combines strong border control measures with a program that gives a new legal, renewable status, but without a direct route to citizens, for millions of undocumented immigrants who have residing for years in the country.
The project, which has the initial support of legislators of both parties, represents one of the most complete efforts of the last decade to comprehensively address immigration.
However, its approval faces significant obstacles in a polarized congress and needs the endorsement of the republican leadership and the current administration to advance.
SECURITY AND LEGAL STATUS
The fundamental pillar of the Dignity Law is an investment of 150,000 million dollars in border security. These funds, which would
In addition, the law hardens sentences for posters collaborators and repeat offenders in illegal crosses.
At the same time, the proposal creates the ‘Dignity Program’. This mechanism would offer a work permit, social security number and protection against deportation for seven years to undocumented immigrants who demonstrate their presence in the country since before December 31, 2020.
Applicants must lack serious criminal records and pay a total of $ 7,000 in fines throughout the program.
This status can be renewed indefinitely, but does not grant access to federal benefits. The project also requires the mandatory implementation of the E-Verify labor verification system at the national level within two years.
Diverse support
The initiative already adds backs from key sectors of American society. More than 175 agriculture, construction and hospitality companies expressed their support, because they need a stable workforce.
The business coalition for American immigration (ABIC) said the program could generate up to 70,000 million dollars in salaries and training at no fiscal cost.
Also, important evangelical organizations see in the proposal a solution that combines security with “legalization based on restitution”, an approach that, according to surveys, would support most of its faithful.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan caucus ‘Problem Solvers’, which integrates 60 congressmen, also granted its guarantee, which is the first large internal support for a migratory reform since 2013.
Criticism
Despite its centrist approach, the law dignity has received criticism from both the right and the left. Conservative organizations such as Numbersusa and the Heritage Foundation qualify it as “disguised amnesty” that rewards illegal immigration and reduce wages.
Congresswoman Salazar came out of the questions and affirmed that “anyone is going to give an amnesty.”
For its part, the toughest wing of the Republican Party, Freedom Caucus, demanded a completely safe border before considering any type of regularization.
From the progressive side, fears have been expressed that the “humanitarian campuses” proposed to process asylum requests on the border extend the arrests.
In turn, activists and lawyers criticized that the lack of a path to citizens would perpetuate a class of second category workers. They also pointed out that fines and the obligation to hire private medical insurance could leave immigrants out with lower income.
Future of the law
The fate of the Dignity Law is uncertain. Although its initial sponsorship is bipartisan, the number of support is still insufficient to force a vote in the Plenary of the House of Representatives.
Actually, the proposal depends crucially on the support of President Donald Trump, whom Congressman Salazar urged that “he is the one to fix the system.”
Without an affirmative gesture of the president, according to political analysts, the project would have few possibilities to overcome the resistance of the conservative wing. In the Senate, the barrier of the 60 votes necessary for any immigration reform is presented as an even greater obstacle.
Analysts agree that, in the current electoral climate, the text probably serves as the basis for future negotiations.
The most feasible scenario is that some of its parts, such as reforms to work visas or E-Verify, are incorporated into other legislative packages, while the ambitious ‘dignity program’ is waiting for a more favorable political moment.
