Beware---another 'bipartisan' immigration bill has been introduced in Congress. The Dignity Act of 2025, co-sponsored by Congresswomen Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX) would allow certain illegal alien workers to remain in the country on legal status. The bill specifically allows for illegals who came to the U.S. before 2021 to apply for up to seven years of legal worker status, along with a path to "permanent residency" status...a step below full citizenship. Those covered under the bill would be required to pay restitution and update their status with the Department of Homeland Security on a regular basis.
The bill is aimed at alleviating concerns among farmers and other employers of migrant workers about the Trump administration's mass deportations gutting their workforce. But critics warn the devil is in the details. "I've seen programs like this in the past, and the problems are the same now as they were then," says Mark H. Metcalf, former U.S. immigration judge and current Kentucky State Treasurer. "How do you prove you've been in the U.S. since 2021, who are your witnesses, where are you getting your documents?"
"The fraud involved in these kinds of programs is one of the biggest obstacles," he continues. "I can tell you right now it's an amnesty, and enforcement disappears as a result."
Metcalf tells KTRH this reminds him of past efforts like the 1986 amnesty bill signed by President Ronald Reagan (who later called it one of his biggest regrets) or the "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill pushed during the Obama administration. Ultimately, he believes this is unnecessary. "We already have guest worker programs and work visa programs," says Metcalf. "The idea that we create another protected class of individuals who may or may not be giving us the straight story on how and when they entered the United States or what their real identity is, just creates a whole different set of problems that we've seen before."
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