Should Deported Parents & Spouses of U.S. Citizens Get a Pathway to Citizenship? (H.R. 5510)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 5510?
(Updated June 25, 2019)
This bill — the Reentry and Reunification Act of 2018 — would provide lawful permanent resident status to spouses and parents of U.S. citizens who are inadmissible to or deportable from the U.S. Eligible immigrants couldn’t have a significant criminal history beyond immigration violations or minor traffic offenses, must have been of good moral character and been physically present in the country continuously for the four years prior to the bill’s enactment.
Prospective immigrants would have to apply within the three years following this bill’s enactment. The continuous presence provision would be violated if the applicant left the U.S. for any period exceeding 90 days or for any periods exceeding 180 days in the aggregate, although extensions would be granted for extenuating circumstances such as serious illness or travel authorized by the Dept. of Homeland Security. Immigrants admitted under this legislation wouldn’t be subject to numerical limitations set by immigration laws.
Argument in favor
Barriers to the reentry of U.S. citizens parents or spouses who have been deported should be removed, it’s unjust to keep families apart.
Argument opposed
If a person has been deported because they entered the country illegally they should be ineligible for legal status to live in the U.S. permanently.
Impact
Spouses and parents of U.S. citizens who have been deported or are inadmissible; and Homeland Security.
Cost of H.R. 5510
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Al Green (D-TX) introduced this bill to provide a path to U.S. citizenship for spouses and parents of U.S. citizens who had been previously been deported:
“Under current law, if someone entered the country unlawfully, made any attempt to reenter, or was deported, they are immediately excluded from applying for citizenship in the U.S. due to the punitive nature of our current immigration system. However, this bill would remove those barriers to reentry if the individual is the spouse or parent of a U.S. citizen and does not have a criminal history… Families are a cornerstone of this country, and our government should not be in the business of tearing them apart. We need legislation like the Reentry and Reunification Act to create a more just and humane immigration system and ensure that we are giving all hardworking families every opportunity to thrive.”
This legislation has the support of 32 cosponsors, all of whom are Democrats.
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
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