1st Paragraph:
- Over the last 30-40 years, what legislation has the United States passed (or not passed) to address immigration?
- What state is your senator from, and how long have you been in the senate?
- What impact does immigration have on your state?
- What legislation does your senator support related to immigration?
- What legislation does your senator NOT support related to immigration?
- What does your senator think of Joe Biden's proposed immigration legislation? What does your senator think of the current migration surge at the southern border?
immigration_in_the_united_states_background_guide_2019.docx |
2013 Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
On June 27, 2013, the Senate passed the bill on 68-32 margin. The bill was not considered by United States House of Representatives and died in the 113th Congress.
If enacted, the bill would have made it possible for many undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship if they had been in the United States for longer than 2 years. To qualify, immigrants would have had to pay a fine, fees, and any back taxes owed; pass a background check; and not have a disqualifying criminal record. The bill also included the DREAM Act. It would have increased border security by adding up to 40,000 border patrol agents. It also would have advanced talent-based immigration through a points-based immigration system. New visas were proposed in this legislation, including a visa for entrepreneurs and a W visa for lower skilled workers.[5] It also proposed new restrictions on H1B visa program to prevent its abuse and additional visas/green-cards for students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees from U.S. institutions. The bill also included a $1.5 billion youth jobs program and repealed the Diversity Visa Lottery in favor of prospective legal immigrants who are already in the United States.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this bill would have reduced the U.S. fiscal deficit by US$197 billion over 10 years and by $700 billion by 2033.[6]
On June 27, 2013, the Senate passed the bill on 68-32 margin. The bill was not considered by United States House of Representatives and died in the 113th Congress.
If enacted, the bill would have made it possible for many undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship if they had been in the United States for longer than 2 years. To qualify, immigrants would have had to pay a fine, fees, and any back taxes owed; pass a background check; and not have a disqualifying criminal record. The bill also included the DREAM Act. It would have increased border security by adding up to 40,000 border patrol agents. It also would have advanced talent-based immigration through a points-based immigration system. New visas were proposed in this legislation, including a visa for entrepreneurs and a W visa for lower skilled workers.[5] It also proposed new restrictions on H1B visa program to prevent its abuse and additional visas/green-cards for students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees from U.S. institutions. The bill also included a $1.5 billion youth jobs program and repealed the Diversity Visa Lottery in favor of prospective legal immigrants who are already in the United States.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this bill would have reduced the U.S. fiscal deficit by US$197 billion over 10 years and by $700 billion by 2033.[6]