The House will vote on two immigration bills next week.
House Republicans have released a first draft of their new “compromise” immigration bill, the “Border Security and Immigration Reform Act.”
The nearly 300-page bill is one of two that the entire House will vote on next week. It is considered a moderate alternative to the conservative bill proposed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).
Most importantly, the new bill provides a pathway to citizenship for young unauthorized immigrants known as DREAMers, allowing legalized immigrants to apply for green cards after five years, based on a points system.
The new bill also contains $25 billion to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico, and it contains a provision that the government can cancel Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals visas if the wall funding is rescinded. It also contains a number of other things that likely won’t be palatable to Democrats and some moderate Senate Republicans, including ending the diversity visa lottery program.
As there’s been an uproar about the new Trump administration policy of separating undocumented families — including those seeking asylum — at the border, the bill includes a provision that would prevent family separation.
“Accompanied alien minors apprehended at the border must not be separated from their parent or legal guardian while in DHS custody,” a bill summary states.
It comes as the result of a push from rank-and-file moderate Republicans to have Congress pass a fix for the DACA program. The more conservative Goodlatte bill, on the other hand, only gives temporary status to DACA recipients, makes deep cuts to legal immigration, and boosts interior enforcement.
You can read the full text of the bill here (the bill text was released by Politico).
