The LIFE Law and the elimination of the punishment rule would allow citizenship for 2.3 million undocumented immigrants

Report from the Center for American Progress highlights the benefits of making legal modifications that help families stay together, while people without documents apply for the “green card”

Photo: John Moore / Getty Images

With the reinstatement of the Law of Family Equity of Legal Immigration (LIFE) and the Elimination of the three and ten-year punishment rules for the undocumented could establish a path to citizenship for 2.3 million undocumented , experts stand out.

“It is a tragedy that the current immigration laws of the United States do not provide a practical way for US citizens and incumbents of green cards or employers request their spouses or undocumented employees ”, considered Silva Mathema, interim director of the CAP Policy team.

The analysis from the Center for American Progress (CAP), also written by Nicole Prchal Svajlenka and Sofia Carratala, highlights that the proposed changes would allow up to 2.3 million immigrants married to citizens and Americans or holders of a “green card” or who have employers who can sponsor them, apply for Permanent Residence.

Break down the people who would benefit : 1.4 million who have a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse and 1.1 million may have an employer willing to sponsor them.

“These common sense solutions highlighted in this column have a bipartisan history and would be instrumental in shaping our system immigration in a more humane and fair way ”, considered Carratala, research assistant of the CAP Immigration Policy team and co-author of the analysis.

The experts’ estimate – which suggests the changes in parallel to migrator reform ia – excludes eligible undocumented parents of unmarried US citizen children from 21 years or more, who can petition their parents before Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ).

A trap

The analysis indicates that currently the undocumented must first leave the country and apply for an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad, but that puts them in danger of not being able to enter the United States again, since the Consular officers may refuse your return, taking into account the Catch law – 22.

“This makes getting a green card really impossible for millions of people who they should have a legal path to h Acerlo ”, indicate the experts.

Of the proposals being discussed in Congress, only the Citizenship Law 2021 of the president Joe Biden suggests the elimination of the so-called “law of punishment.

A great advantage of resetting Section 245 (i) of the LIFE Act that the experts indicate would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for the “green card” without leaving the country or separating from their families.