House set to approve bills to grand citizenship to half of undocumented population

The House of Representatives is set to vote Thursday on two proposals that would legalize an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S without legal permission. 

The bills would probably be passed by the Democratic-controlled House and if enacted, they would grant millions of undocumented immigrants U.S citizenship, including farmworkers and those who arrived in the country as children. 

The votes come as the administration is finding it difficult to tackle the soaring number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the southern border.

The measures were lately reintroduced after passing the House in 2019 with the support of some Republicans.

Joe Biden’s plan to legalize the undocumented population has met with broad rejection from the Republicans. 

If signed into law, the American Dream and Promise Act would allow more than 2.3 million “Dreamers,” or unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, as well as beneficiaries of certain temporary humanitarian programs, to gain permanent citizenship status.

Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) at a Thursday morning press conference said “The legislation that we will vote on today will cover almost half, or maybe as much as half, of the undocumented people that we have in our country today and give them legal status.”

The two bills which are beneficial for farmworkers, people brought illegally to the US as minors, and refugees with temporary status are expected to pass the House, but they face a hard battle in the Senate, where 60 votes generally are needed for bills.