Proposed update to federal Dignity Act targets illegal immigration, American economy

As a wide-ranging proposal to revise the United States immigration system, U.S. Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) led the introduction of an updated Dignity Act this week, gathering a small bipartisan coalition to break Congressional deadlock on the issue.

Salazar labeled the bill as based on the biblical principles of dignity and redemption. It focuses on four areas: halting illegal immigration, solutions for undocumented immigrants, improving the American workforce and economy, and guaranteeing competitive prosperity.

“Our broken immigration system is frustrating Americans, causing people to suffer, and fracturing our country — economically, morally, socially, and politically. A solution is long overdue,” Salazar said. “I am proud to introduce the new and improved, bipartisan Dignity Act. This bill gives dignity to the border agents who need support, the job creators who need employees, the American people who need secure borders, and those who currently live in the shadows.”

The first version of the bill was introduced in 2022, although that version was heavily Republican-focused and backed. This version includes such cosponsors as U.S. Reps. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Mike Lawler (R-NY).

Key aspects of the bill include $25 billion for border security and the mandated use nationwide of an E-verify system for all American businesses hiring legal workers. Processing would be expedited and catch-and-release policies ended, while the Dreamers – undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children and often know no other home – would be given immediate protected status and a new path to citizenship.

“Our nation is a nation of immigrants; it always has been,” González-Colón said. “But we cannot ignore the fact that illegal immigration is at an all-time high, and that Congress hasn’t passed any significant legislation to address it since the Immigration and Reform Control Act in 1986, when just under 3 million people obtained legal status.”

Domestically, the legislation would also enact the American Worker Fund, using restitution payments from new dignity and redemption programs for immigrants to provide workforce training, upskilling and education for unemployed American workers. At the same time, seasonal labor would become year-round labor, as the H-2A application process is streamlined to reduce regulatory burden on farmers and businesses and seasonal requirements for the program are removed.

Additionally, if legal immigrants have been waiting for 10 years or more, be it for family-based or employment-based immigration, they will be given a visa. More immigrants will also be allowed in, as the per-country cap set by the Immigration Act of 1990 would rise from 7 percent to 15 percent.

The legislation is wide-ranging, encompassing asylum law, immigration, security efforts and anti-cartel operations, and incentives for the domestic workforce.

“Decades of congressional inaction on immigration law has real consequences, and the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes requires a bipartisan solution,” Escobar said. “I have seen the toll our broken immigration system has on federal personnel, local representatives, nonprofits, and the migrants themselves, and the need for a realistic, common-sense compromise could not be more urgent. These challenging times call for both compassion and action, and the Dignity Act of 2023 offers a bipartisan, meaningful approach that restores dignity to people who have tried to navigate a broken system for far too long.”

Notably, the supporters of the Dignity Act said that all items within will be paid for by either an Immigration Infrastructure levy of 1.5 percent on the paychecks of those given work authorization through the Dignity Program or, in the case of the American Worker Fund, provided for by the restitution payments.