Washington, United States
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday re-approved a immigration bill that seeks to regularize millions of undocumented youth known as “dreamers” already hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of TPS (Temporary Protection Status) programs.
The bill was passed with 228 votes in favor (all Democrats and 9 Republicans) and 197 against.
According to estimates by its promoters, some 2.5 million young people who were brought home when they were minors by their parents and who are known as “dreamers” or “dreamers” could benefit from this reform that sets a path towards naturalization.
Former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) first approved a temporary regularization for these young people in 2012, but Republicans took it to court and it has since been subjected to a long legal battle.
In addition to the “dreamers”, the bill also provides a path to citizenship for the TPS, Programs that benefit about 400,000 people, mostly Central Americans and Haitians affected by natural disasters or civil strife.
The document approved this Thursday is a version very similar to a project that the lower house already approved in 2019 but did not pass the Senate, at that time under Republican control.
Now Democrats do dominate the Senate, but for their eventual approval they need to support at least 10 Republicans as well, something uncertain at this time.
This project is part of the major immigration reform that the White House is pushing in Congress that provides for the regularization of 11 million undocumented immigrants but does not have the necessary support from the opposition.
Also part of this reform is a second project that the lower house plans to vote on today and which seeks to regularize agricultural workers.
Democrats have opted to introduce the crumbling reform as they believe that with this strategy they can receive more support from the opposition.
However, Republican leader in the lower house, Kevin McCarthy, has alluded to the current situation on the border with the arrival of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors and migrant families to justify their opposition to the measure.
“With what’s happening on the border today is probably the worst time Democrats could offer to do that,” McCarthy noted. EFE