Biden’s Immigration Bill Promotes Economic Recovery in 2021
CHICAGO, IL — Today, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA) introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, President Biden’s immigration proposal that would create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants — including Dreamers — who live, work, and contribute to the United States. The proposal would modernize a broken immigration system, help our country grow its workforce, keep families together and rebuild our economy.
Immigrant workers have been essential to the pandemic response by performing jobs in critical industries such as agricultural, healthcare and hospitality. In fact, 70 percent of undocumented immigrants are classified as essential workers, and voters overwhelmingly support a path to citizenship by a margin of 60 to 33 percent.
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 is one of several legislative vehicles expected to be introduced in Congress in the next few weeks. This includes the Dream Act as well as lawful status for TPS holders, essential and agricultural workers.
Highlights of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021
- Creates an eight year path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants including dreamers, agricultural workers and essential workers
- Clears employment-based visa backlogs, recapture unused visas
- Addresses root causes of migration and border management, among other provisions.
Rebecca Shi, Executive Director of the American Business Immigration Coalition, said: “We applaud Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Linda Sanchez for introducing President Biden’s U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to promote economic recovery. This bill clears employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, address root causes of migration and creates a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented workers who have been on the frontlines of the Pandemic recovery. With the bipartisan support of the American public and a bipartisan spirit driven by commonsense immigration solutions, there is no reason why we should not get something done this year. There are no excuses, only opportunities to do what’s right for families, businesses and our economy.”
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The American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) promotes commonsense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.