Overview

• Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar introduced the Dignity Act to defer deportations for immigrants who entered before 2021 and to offer them seven-year renewable status with work and travel rights
• The legislation requires proof of age at entry, criminal background checks, health insurance coverage and exclusion from welfare for eligibility
• Ten Republicans and ten Democrats co-sponsored the bill even as hard-line conservatives decry its amnesty provisions
• Congress recently approved increased funding for ICE detentions and deportation operations have surged even as lawmakers debate statutory protections
• Figures like Rep. Chip Roy and House Leader Steve Scalise highlight the Republican split by publicly backing mass removals while privately securing relief for select immigrants