The time to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform starts now.

1. Passing the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 would boost our economy

• Passing comprehensive immigration reform benefits all workers by increasing productivity, creating new jobs, raising workers wages, and reducing the deficit. It would increase the labor force by 3.5 percent in 2023 and 5 percent in 2033, which will boost capital investment and lead to increased productivity and higher overall average wages.
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated it would increase real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $700 billion in 2023 and $1.4 trillion in 2033.
• Approximately 3.2 million immigrants are business owners, or one in every five entrepreneurs in the country. Immigrant-owned businesses employ nearly 8 million Americans and generate $1.3 trillion in total sales.

2. Passing the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 would support our labor market

• Clears backlogs: The bill clears the employment-based immigrant visa backlog and alleviates lengthy wait times for individuals by eliminating employment-based per country limits.
• Increases lower skilled job visas: The annual number of immigrant visas for lower-skilled jobs would increase from 10,000 to 40,000, which will expand opportunities for people to obtain green cards to work in the dairy, meat, and poultry processing industries, as well as in child care and elder care.
• Stimulates regional economic development: It gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to establish a 5-year pilot program to allow any county or municipal executive to petition for additional immigrant visas to support the region’s economic development strategy, provided employers in those regions certify there are available jobs and that there are no workers to fill them. This will be critical to construction labor shortages that is impacting housing production.

3. Passing the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 creates an earned roadmap to citizenship for undocumented individuals.

• The bill allows undocumented individuals to apply for temporary legal status, with the ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their taxes.
• Dreamers, TPS holders, and immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements are eligible for green cards immediately under the legislation. After three years, all green card holders who pass additional background checks and demonstrate knowledge of English and U.S. civics can apply to become citizens. Applicants must be physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021.
• Oh and, please, undocumented immigrants are NOT aliens. Lastly, the bill further recognizes America as a nation of immigrants by changing the word “alien” to “noncitizen” in our immigration laws.

4. Passing the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 keeps families together.

• Aside from clearing backlogs, recapturing unused visas, eliminating lengthy wait times, and increasing per-country visa caps, it also eliminates the so-called “3 and 10-year bars,” and other provisions that keep families apart.
• Lastly, the bill allows immigrants with approved family-sponsorship petitions to join family in the United States on a temporary basis while they wait for green cards to become available.

Reuniting families and providing long-term stability is core to advancing homeownership opportunities for Latinos. Currently, an estimated 3.76 million people with approved family-sponsored petitions are waiting for an immigrant visa to become available, sometimes for up to 20 years, in order to lawfully reunify with their family members in the United States.

When people say things like wait in line, waiting in line means 20 years for many families! Approximately 1.6 million undocumented immigrants are married to U.S. Citizens and an estimated 4.4 million U.S. citizen children have at least one parent who is undocumented. The US Citizenship Act provides a clear pathway to citizenship for these individuals.