Salazar prepares to reintroduce immigration bill to solve ‘all problems’

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Rep. María Elvira Salazar will start her second term in about a month and she will count on a Republican majority in the House to help her change the country’s immigration policy.


Salazar said she plans to reintroduce her Dignity Act proposal to address immigration-related issues such as requiring an electronic employment eligibility verification system.

“Both parties understand and recognize that we have a major mess at the border, we have problems at the economy, we need hands to work, we have supply chain problems, we have high inflation, and my bill ... I believe will solve all those problems overnight,” Salazar said.

The Cuban-American retired journalist described herself as “one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” as “a brown girl from the hood,” and a “Hispanic girl from Little Havana,” and said that is how she will be asking her fellow lawmakers to pass immigration reform.


Salazar introduced her previous draft of the “DIGNIDAD” bill on Feb. 8. She used the word in Spanish as an acronym for “Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream.”

The bill would have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to resume the construction of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, authorize DHS to request National Guard support, and require more U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.

It also included a removal deferral for eligible non-U.S. nationals, improving the treatment of minors without lawful immigration status, and a path to permanent resident status for “Dreamers.” She said passing immigration reform is the “moral, right, Christian thing to do.”

https://www.local10.com/news/politic...-all-problems/

The previous time she introduced this bill, it was very reasonable and included border security and some relief for us. If Republicans do not take this up, then they are truly hypocrites.

For example, the bill

requires DHS to resume all barrier construction activities along the southern border that were underway or being planned prior to January 20, 2021;

authorizes DHS to request National Guard support to secure the southern border;
requires the hiring of additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel;

provides funding for border infrastructure and equipment;

provides statutory authority for the Flores settlement, which established policies pertaining to the treatment of minors without lawful immigration status by DHS;

requires employers to verify the immigration status of individuals using an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system;
provides a path to permanent resident status to eligible individuals without lawful immigration status who entered the United States as minors (commonly referred to as Dreamers);

establishes the Dignity Program, which defers the removal of eligible individuals without lawful immigration status who meet various requirements, including paying into a fund to provide training to U.S. workers;

establishes the Redemption Program, which provides a path to permanent resident status to individuals who complete the Dignity Program and meet various requirements, including making additional payments into the U.S. worker fund;
and
requires the Department of State to implement a strategy to address the key factors contributing to individuals from Central America traveling to the United States.

Dead on arrival

I don't see Kevin McCarthy letting this come to the floor for a vote in 2023/2024

The GOP leadership has already stated that only immigration bills that address border security will be brought up and bills that provided amnesty will not. This is DOA by her own party's leadership.

After January, immigration hawks and the "Freedom Caucus" will control the house. That means no immigration reform and the strengthening of white nationalism.

No immigration bill will EVER be put on the floor of the "Jim Jordan" House. Ever. It is now, or unfortunately, 2025 - given the stars align in that year for us - which has not been the case very often.

Waste of time

I don't think McCarthy will bring it up to a vote, there's a lot of anti-immigration hawks on the republican side in the House of Representatives. She doesn't have clout either.

The labor shortage is a huge contributing factor to inflation. I can't believe there aren't any immigration bills being passed to fix it. This gridlock and partisanship is having significant negative effects.