Ahead of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' inauguration on Wednesday, the Biden team unveiled the bill that they will send to Congress on Day 1 of his presidency to overhaul and modernize the United States' immigration system.

What You Need To Know

  • Biden's team unveiled the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, the bill that they will send to Congress on Day 1 of his presidency to overhaul and modernize the immigration system

  • The bill will create a path to citizenship for undocumented individuals, including Dreamers and TPS holders

  • All eligible green card holders, after three years, would be able to apply for citizenship after passing additional background checks and passing the required English and U.S. civics requirements

  • The act would also increase funding for border security and addressing the underlying causes of migration

The bill, known as the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, will aim to provide pathways to citizenship, while prioritizing keeping families together, as well as enhancing border protections, and "addressing the root causes of migration from Central America."

The act would likely compliment the executive actions that Biden is expected to sign Wednesday related to immigration, which include ordering his Cabinet to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, revoke Trump's executive order on deportations, and halt funding and construction to the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Specifically, the bill will create a path to citizenship for undocumented individuals, including Dreamers and TPS holders, and will allow "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."

All eligible green card holders, after three years, would be able to apply for citizenship after passing additional background checks and passing the required English and U.S. civics requirements. The bill would also remove the world "alien" from immigration laws, replacing it with "noncitizen."

Other provisions in the bill include:

  • Reforming the family-based immigration system to eliminate provisions that keep families apart
  • Increasing Diversity Visas to 80,000 from 55,000
  • clearing employment-based visa backlogs, reducing lengthy wait times, and eliminating per-country visa caps, as well as making it easier for graduates of U.S. universities with advanced STEM degrees to stay in the United States, in an effort to grow the economy
  • Increased federal protections for employees, including migrant and seasonal workers

The bill will also aim to prioritize what it calls "smart border controls," which includes increased funding for border communities, enhancing the federal government's ability "prosecute individuals involved in smuggling and trafficking networks who are responsible for the exploitation of migrants," as well as authorizing additional resources for the Department of Homeland Security to enhance border infrastructure and technology.

The act would fund Biden's $4 billion inter-agency plan to address the underlying causes of migration from Central American nations, increasing conditional funding to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, provided that they "reduce the endemic corruption, violence, and poverty."