House OKs ‘Dreamers’
Passes farm-labor bill, too
The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to approve a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, including farmworkers and “Dreamers” brought to the country illegally as minors.
The American Dream and Promise Act passed 228-197 with nine Republicans joining all Democrats voting in favor. The bill allows a path to citizenship for Dreamers and refugees with temporary protected status.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed 247-174 with 30 Republicans joining most Democrats in favor and one Democrat voting in opposition.
Many Republicans argued that the bills were poorly timed due to the surge of illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border.
The legislation “ignores the problem, but will actually worsen the situation,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who accused President Biden of sparking a surge in migration with his 2020 campaign rhetoric and recent border policies.
“During a press conference this morning, Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi had a sign up that said ‘Home is here.’ This is the wrong message at the wrong time,” he said.
Republicans also said that the bills weren’t the result of bipartisan negotiation and therefore are likely doomed in the Senate, where 60 votes typically are needed for bills to pass.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, denounced the top-down drafting process for the bills, which she said made clear the legislation was more about messaging than actual reform.
“We do grandstanding drama and constant rhetoric,” she objected. “We have to work on policy, not on political drama.”
Democrats, however, hailed the bills as historic would-be paths to citizenship for about half of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), the first former illegal immigrant in Congress — he overstayed a tourist visa in the 1960s — said it was “hypocritical” for people to oppose legal status for farmworkers and young people who supply their food and work in the service industry, the military and medical professions.
“I came to this nation without no papers, and I sit as a member of Congress and my vote is equal to any of your votes — is equal to any of your votes — because this country, you can dream and it has promise,” said Espaillat, who is from the Dominican Republic.