A path to citizenship may be extended to over 2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act Tuesday night. The fate of H.R. 6 now lies in the hands of the Republican-led Senate.
The legal status of DACA recipients, immigrants who were brought to the country as children, has been in limbo after President Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program in 2017. The measure would pave a path to citizenship for “dreamers” as well as immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders.
“This was a bipartisan victory,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “Our Democratic Caucus stood unanimous and was joined by seven Republicans who know the value of Dreamers, TPS and DED recipients.”
Congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) is among the seven Republicans who joined all 230 Democrats present in backing the bill.
Similar bills were introduced in Congress over the years but never passed, despite bipartisan support. H.R. 6 soared through the House with a final vote of 237-187, but will face an uphill battle in its next phase. The Senate is unlikely to take up the bill, and the White House also issued a veto threat against it.
Democrats are also proposing the bill at a time when President Trump and Republican leaders are more focused on the influx of Central American migrants arriving that the U.S.-Mexico border and the strain the humanitarian crisis is imposing on U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other government agencies.
Lauren Terrazas can be reached at lauren@tpr.org and on Twitter @terrazas_lauren.
Copyright 2020 Texas Public Radio. To see more, visit Texas Public Radio. 9(MDA3MzEzNjc2MDEzMDI2Mzc4OTc4NTFmNg001))