The new bill includes an “immigration parole” provision which would give undocumented immigrants permission to work and temporary 10-year protection from deportation.
Immigrant advocates prefer to reinstate a repealed provision that allowed undocumented immigrants who were in the United States before 2010 to obtain green cards. However, restoring the provision faces an uphill battle.
Recently, undocumented immigrants, instead of receiving the benefit of legalization, have obtained a quasi-legal status, which limits their ability to access various resources such as financial support or scholarships.
«The threat of deportation is always there. A path to citizenship is a path to stability,» said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, representing immigrants from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, at a virtual conference.