American Dream and Promise Act passes in House, faces opposition in Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 Tuesday, voting 237 to 187 to provide a path to citizenship for roughly 2.5 million immigrants who came to the U.S. as children or hold Temporary Protected Status. While similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate, it has not been voted on in committee and is not expected to pass in the upper chamber. The White House has indicated that President Donald Trump will veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

Key Points:

• The Dream and Promise Act would provide 10-year conditional green cards to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, who would eventually be permitted to apply for lawful permanent resident status and citizenship.
• The legislation would also provide a path to permanent residency for individuals in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs, provided they have at least three years of continuous legal residence in the U.S.

Background: The status of DACA recipients and TPS and DED holders has been in limbo after the Trump administration moved to end the DACA program, terminated TPS designations for six countries and announced the end of DED for Liberians. Federal courts enjoined the administration from ending DACA and the TPS designations until lawsuits challenging Trump’s actions are decided. The administration also extended the “wind down” period for DED for Liberians amid ongoing litigation. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Trump administration request to expedite review of the DACA rescission cases, meaning the court is unlikely to consider the issue until its next term, which begins in October. The House’s vote Tuesday came after the bill passed out of committee last month.

BAL Analysis: While the Dream and Promise Act shows promising signs of a possible legislative relief for DACA recipients and TPS and DED holders, the bill is likely to face opposition in the Senate. Tuesday’s House vote does not change the status quo for DACA recipients or TPS or DED holders. The administration’s plans to end DACA and cancel TPS and DED designations remain on hold pending the outcome of litigation challenging the administration’s actions. BAL will continue to provide updates on the progress of this bill.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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