16/09/2021
Senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would create a pathway to citizenship for some children and young adults who were raised in the United States but face deportation at age 21.
The legislation, called the America’s Children Act, was introduced after the House this week advanced the text of a sweeping $3.5 trillion spending plan that would also write into law a pathway to citizenship for the same group, known as documented Dreamers. They are young people who lived in the country legally until age 21 as the dependents of parents who hold nonimmigrant visas. But many never qualify for permanent residency. And some that are eligible for green cards as children get stuck in the vast green card backlog and are unable to gain residency before they turn 21 and are kicked out of line.
The moves indicate broad bipartisan support in both chambers for documented Dreamers following a yearslong push for them to be included in an immigration overhaul.
“For too long, young immigrants like us, who have been raised and educated here as Americans, have been forced to leave the country we call home,” said Dip Patel, the founder of Improve the Dream, an organization that advocates for documented Dreamers. “The introduction of America’s Children Act means so much to thousands of us who have only known America as their home.”
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program introduced by President Obama in 2012, which protects about 650,000 young immigrants from deportation, requires applicants to be undocumented, leaving out documented Dreamers.
Under the proposed legislation, at least 200,000 young adults who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years on a valid visa and have graduated from an institution of higher education would be eligible for permanent residence.
Source: New York Times
