Biden Administration March 18, 2021

House Approves Immigration Bill Giving “Dreamers” A Path To Citizenship

MCALLEN, TX - AUGUST 15: Honduran immigrant Brian Alexander, 7, stands in line for a bus with his father and other immigrants on August 15, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. Central American immigrant families, who had crossed into Texas from Mexico, were processed at a U.S. Border Patrol center, given temporary legal documents and sent to their destination city, while their asylum petitions move through U.S. immigration courts. The families are assisted by the Catholic Sacred Heart Church Immigrant Respite Center. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The House on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation that would give young, undocumented immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” the opportunity to gain permanent legal status and even U.S. citizenship.

The bill, known as the American Dream and Promise Act, cleared the House by a 228-197 vote. Nine Republicans joined every single Democratic representative to OK the legislation, which now goes to the Senate.

JUST IN: The House votes 228-197 to pass immigration bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, and others granted temporary protection from deportation. https://t.co/uTlzDTTs58
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 18, 2021

It provides legal status to anyone who came to this country before the age of 19 and before January 1, 2021. There are approximately 2.5 million so-called “Dreamers” in the U.S. who first came here as children. The bill also offers pathways to citizenship for 400,000 immigrants who were granted temporary protective status for various humanitarian considerations.

The bill is one of two proposals the House is voting on that are part of President Biden’s attempts to overhaul the country’s immigration policy. The worsening situation at the southwest border has made immigration debate, always a tough topic to find middle ground on in Washington, even more fractious.