Congress must act: Pass immigration reform that expands legal pathways

With illegal border crossings at historic lows, Americans, including millions of Latinos, across the country know there’s a generational opportunity to move beyond the long-standing hurdle of border security and finally focus on fixes to our immigration system.

According to a poll by the LIBRE Institute, 8 in 10 Latinos agree that our immigration system is broken, and 9 in 10 support expanding legal pathways to citizenship.

The numbers make it clear: Latinos want both a secure border and an increase in legal pathways to meet the demand for immigrant labor, especially as the U.S. seeks to maintain its technological and economic edge over China.

Now that the border is much more secure, it’s time to expand legal pathways for immigrants who want to contribute to our country.

Fortunately, two bills offer a promising glimpse into how we can do just that.

America’s Children Act

This bill will grant these children of immigrants the opportunity to apply for permanent residency if they meet the following three requirements:

• They were brought to the U.S. lawfully as a child (This bill does not apply to DACA recipients)
• They have maintained legal status for 10 years (including 8 as dependents)
• They graduated from a U.S. college or university.

Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act

The other bill is the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, otherwise known as EWEA, which promises to further expand legal immigration channels but this time for essential workers in the high-demand non-agricultural sector.

If passed, EWEA would provide temporary 3-year long visas, eligible for up to two potential renewals, for essential workers hired to work in the non-agricultural sector.

U.S. citizen workers would be protected

• Employers would have to demonstrate that a certain position has gone unfilled for three consecutive months or are open for 60 days within a 90-day period.
• Program participation would be restricted to only areas where the unemployment rate is 7.9% or less, meaning that areas with high unemployment would be excluded.

Now is the time for Congress to Act

Passing these bills would be a strong first step toward restoring trust in our immigration system. American workers deserve safety of mind by having priority when it comes to filling the labor demands of America’s growing economy, but at the same time knowing that the size and dynamism of our economy won’t just be limited by the size of our labor force.

Everybody benefits when the economy grows thanks to immigrants. These two bills would make sure both hardworking individuals seeking temporary employment and American-educated children of legal immigrants have

Now is the time for Congress to act and pass both important bills!