After four years of racist and cruel immigration policies under the Trump administration, the United States has an opportunity for reform that will make our laws more effective, more fair and more humane.

At the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, we’ve been on the front lines advocating for more-just laws and policies affecting immigrants. We are committed to working toward a system that decriminalizes immigration, that promotes keeping families together and protects vulnerable people.

All people, regardless of legal status or country of origin, deserve the opportunity to improve their circumstances and their lives. And with the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, we see a significant first step toward rebuilding a long-broken and chaotic system.

This legislation is the opportunity to begin an overhaul of a system that is rooted in racism. Ninety-four percent of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project’s clients are Mainers of color, and we have seen firsthand how unjust and inequitable the immigration system can be. We have long awaited comprehensive reform, and this legislation includes critical provisions that will ultimately create a more humane system that represents our values.

The act would create an eight-year path to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living, working and raising their families in our communities. Certain people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and Temporary Protected Status, as well as farmworkers, would be able to apply for green cards immediately, and have a fast-tracked three-year pathway.

It prioritizes keeping families together and reforms the family-based immigration system by recapturing visas from previous years to clear backlogs, including spouses and children of green card holders as immediate family members, and increasing per-country caps for family-based immigration. Kids deserve to be with their parents and grandparents, no matter what country they are from.

This legislation also focuses on protecting some of the most vulnerable: those seeking asylum and immigrant survivors of domestic violence and trafficking. The bill eliminates the one-year deadline for filing asylum claims and provides funding to reduce asylum application backlogs. Those fleeing dangerous situations should not be turned away simply because an arbitrary deadline has passed. The bill also protects survivors of domestic violence and trafficking from being deported or detained while their applications for immigration relief are pending. These protections would prevent immigrant survivors from having to choose between living with abuse and risking separation from their families.

The bill has a number of other provisions, including addressing the root causes of migration from Central America and strengthening protections for those workers at risk of exploitation. It also makes what may seem like a minor and technical change, by replacing the word “alien” with “noncitizen” in our immigration laws. All people are valuable, deserving of dignity and respect in both words and action.

At the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, we see how these statutory changes would affect lives: from the DACA client who is thriving in college after gaining work authorization; to the green card holder who has been waiting for years for her husband to get a visa to join her and their child in the U.S.; to the domestic violence survivor who waits through immigration backlogs while in fear of being deported back to the town where her abusive husband’s family would target her.

Comprehensive immigration reform is difficult to accomplish in a closely divided Congress, but the only way that the work can be completed is for it to begin. While we are realistic about the challenges, we are optimistic that with renewed focus and energy, the immigration system can be improved.

Our communities are stronger, healthier and more resilient when we have thoughtful, compassionate and fair immigration laws. The flaws in our current system are deeply rooted and will require continued advocacy and bold action like those outlined in the U.S. Citizenship Act. We look ahead with hope and renewed dedication to build an immigration system that welcomes those who come to the United States to seek safety, reunite with family or pursue a better life.

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