Dignidad: The Case For The Dignity Act
McCaskill Gets Firsthand Look at Security Efforts Along U.S.-Mexico Border. Photo by Senator McCaskill.
On June 28, 2022, in the middle of the hottest time of the day, authorities in San Antonio, Texas, discovered 46 deceased people inside a tractor-trailer. These immigrants were smuggled into the United States in search of the American Dream, but their journey was met with extreme weather conditions causing them to die from heat-related illnesses. The 46 immigrants did not have to die in such an inhumane way, but confusing immigration policies made a dangerous trek more appealing than years of waiting and dealing with cartel violence.
Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) has a solution to this ongoing immigration oin crisis. On February 8, 2022, Representative Salazar became the first freshman Republican member in the history of the United States to introduce a comprehensive immigration bill to combat anti-immigrant sentiment while strengthening the US southern border. Known as the Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act, or DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act, the almost five hundred-page bill gives a solution to three main issues: halting illegal immigration, providing a pathway for citizenship for immigrants residing in the United States, and bolstering the U.S economy and workforce.
The last immigration reform to occur under a Republican was during the Ronald Reagan administration in 1986. Known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), the law prohibited U.S. employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and funded new border technology. It also granted amnesty for undocumented immigrants who were in the country before January 1, 1982. Consequently, Reagan and, later on, George H.W. Bush influenced the Republican Party's platform on illegal immigration. Through the IRCA, the party embraced a compassionate view towards illegal immigrants while aiming to disincentivize future illegal border crossings and strengthen the U.S. border.
Despite these accomplishments, the benefits of the bill were limited. Of the three million undocumented immigrants that were legalized, only one million became citizens, and illegal immigration did not subside. The problem has continued to grow until today, as more than one and a half million arrests were made by the U.S. Border Patrol in the 2021 fiscal year. Thus, Salazar’s bill is the best solution Republicans can offer because it allows for a return of compassionate immigration policies while holding illegal immigrants liable for breaking the law and strengthening the American economy.
The first matter the bill tackles is the sharp increase in illegal border crossing apprehensions. The COVID-19 pandemic and new immigration policies by the Biden administration have caused a shortage of Border Patrol agents, especially in Texas and Arizona. The bill helps alleviate the shortage by improving the morale of the agency. Under the Biden administration, Customs and Border Patrol operates under the policy of catch-and-release, a practice in which border patrol agents release an immigrant from custody into the United States until they procure an immigration hearing. Consequently, this policy has upset border patrol agents so much that agents have started to sell coins reading “U.S. Welcome Patrol” to each other and eventually quit.
With Salazar’s bill, the Border Patrol is given purpose again. It creates a southern border strategy, or in other words, an operational plan to regain control of immigration waves by strategically placing agents in highly-crossed areas. The strategy establishes a benchmark for the agency that determines whether the border is fully secured, invests in the latest defense technology, and funds incentives that help hire and retain exceptional border patrol candidates. Once the border patrol is allowed to do their job with sufficient tools, they will be effective in stopping illegal drugs, sex traffickers, and violent criminals from entering our country.
Moreover, Salazar’s bill grants amnesty to undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S. through its Dignity Program and Redemption Program. The Dignity Program allows immigrants to obtain temporary legal status by paying $10,000 per adult immigrant in restitution for breaking the law within a ten-year period. Afterward, now-legal immigrants have the opportunity to apply for a 5-year visa or enroll in the Redemption Program. The Redemption Program allows temporarily legal immigrants to obtain permanent legal status through learning English and U.S. civics and committing to 200 hours of community service or by paying $2,500 into Salazar’s proposed American Worker Fund.
Republican opponents of Salazar’s bill, such as Representative Madison Cawthorn (NC-11), argue that the bill is “dangerous” because deportation is not a central element. However, as Latinos shift towards the Republican Party, this rhetoric can become detrimental to the G.O.P. According to the Pew Research Center, around 40% of Latinos are anxious about their loved ones being deported–even if some of them have been living here, paying taxes, and building our communities for more than a decade. Therefore, Rep. Salazar’s bill acknowledges the contributions undocumented immigrants have made to this country but holds them accountable for breaking the law.
The last main issue covered by the Salazar bill is strengthening the economy and workforce to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Out of the restitution collected from undocumented immigrants, the bill would implement a new program called the American Worker Fund. The purpose of the American Worker Fund is to fund training for American workers. Representative Salazar claims two Americans will get training funded for every $10,000 an immigrant pays as part of the Dignity Program. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the Redemption Program provides another revenue source for the American Worker Fund. The money is then used to fund different types of training, such as apprenticeships and vocational or higher education, that any American worker who is at risk of losing their job can elect to take.
Although not directly related to immigration, the American Worker Fund is a quintessential part of the bill, as it applies to all citizens. We are moving deeper into an era of globalization, and some U.S. workers are beginning to lose their jobs and higher wages. For example, when China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, trade between the U.S. and China increased dramatically. Consequently, American companies outsourced manufacturing jobs to China in return for cheaper labor. In the span of ten years, the U.S lost more than three million manufacturing jobs. Additionally, wages were lowered by American companies because recently laid-off workers accept low-paying jobs that are unprofitable to outsource to another country.
To combat globalization, the American Worker Fund can be utilized to provide training for these now unemployed workers in industries that are competitive, such as technology or the agricultural industry. American workers who wish to contribute to American society and earn income but cannot with their current skills receive free or subsidized training and education. While racial equality and the pandemic are the top priorities of the Biden administration, Biden and his Cabinet have still failed to touch globalization policies, such as continuing tariffs that hurt American manufacturers and helping China become attractive for offshoring jobs. Without even tackling the issues globalization brings to the U.S., Representative Salazar’s bill alleviates immigration—a domestic issue—to help the country remain economically competitive within the international community.
Undoubtedly, Congresswoman Salazar will face a steep battle in getting her House colleagues to vote for the bill. The bill has support from a wide variety of right-wing politicians such as moderate Republican Peter Meijer (MI-03) and conservative Republican Pete Sessions (TX-17) because it covers all aspects of the Republican platform. The U.S. Congress is currently facing extreme polarization due to recently-elected radicals on both sides of the political aisle. Party leaders, such as Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fail to unite these radicals with the rest of the party, fostering a contentious political environment. For these reasons, Representative Salazar will have to play chess with leaders if she wants to get the bill passed. Should Salazar indeed pass the bill, however, it will prove a major legislative victory that no freshman congress member has accomplished in recent years: passing common-sense immigration reform. In doing so, both immigrants and hard-working Americans will be awarded the dignity they deserve—all while keeping America’s economy number one.
Mark Torres (SEAS‘21, CC’22) is a junior editor for the Columbia Political Review. Now that he has graduated from Columbia (again), you can catch him traveling with friends, practicing for his first powerlifting competition, or eating Oreos.