It is well known that the Senate immigration reform bill has been approved by the US Senate. If the House passes that bill and if that bill is signed into law, undocumented immigrants living in America would be granted authorization to apply for temporary legal status called the Registered Provisional Immigrant status.
Immigrants in this temporary status could then apply for permanent resident status. But the wait time for them to apply for Green Cards would be ten years. At that time, they need to pass an English and a civics test. Currently, immigrants applying for US citizenship alone are required to take these tests. USCIS administers these tests in order to make sure that the people who seek to obtain US citizenship are well aware of the country’s history and laws and that they are good in English.
Undocumented immigrants in America are already aware of the country’s laws and the DREAMers have created large networks of political activists. They have arranged meetings with the lawmakers and they have organized letter-writing campaigns. Undocumented immigrants have been working for years, for a path to US citizenship. They have been expanding their network and now, evangelists, business owners and several other groups are a part of their network.
It is now evident that the immigrants are contributing to the country’s economy and that they are not takers. Several reports state that the undocumented immigrants, if legalized, would benefit the economy of America.
The US Senate has now passed the final version of the Senate bill that includes stronger border security provisions. At the same time, it should be remembered that a legislation will be signed into law only if both the chambers pass it. Hence, the House must now debate on the Senate bill and pass it. Only after the bill passes the House will it be signed into law by the President. However, immigration reform cannot be ignored and it is mandatory.
The members of the House have stated that the House will have its own bill and it will not come up with a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The House will have few smaller bills. It will focus on border security and not on the legalization of the country’s undocumented immigrants. But the Democrats do not want bills that would prevent the undocumented immigrants from obtaining lawful status.