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March 10, 2021

Dear John,

Next week, the House of Representatives is set to begin considering legislation that would legalize subsets of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States. One of these bills is the American Dream and Promise Act, which was introduced in the House on March 3.

This proposal would provide a pathway to legal permanent residence for several categories of unauthorized immigrants with particularly strong equities, including DREAMers and those who meet the criteria to qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). It also would address the status for an often-overlooked group -- so-called Legal DREAMers, who upon turning 21 lose their legal status as derivative beneficiaries under their parents' nonimmigrant visas (such as the H-1B).

Using their unique methodology to assign legal status in U.S. Census Bureau data, Migration Policy Institute (MPI) researchers estimate that nearly 2.8 million DREAMers and 190,000 Legal DREAMers meet the criteria for conditional permanent residence, with 2.3 million and 171,000 respectively likely to progress to legal permanent residence (aka getting a green card) by meeting additional educational or professional criteria under the legislation. MPI further estimates 393,000 unauthorized immigrants meet the TPS or DED criteria and could receive a green card.

Check out the infographic here: www.migrationpolicy.org/content/american-dream-and-promise-act-2021-eligibility.

And for more information on the various subgroups that could feature in upcoming legalization discussions, including essential workers and agricultural workers, see our recent report, "Back on the Table: U.S. Legalization and the Unauthorized Immigrant Groups that Could Factor in the Debate": www.migrationpolicy.org/research/us-legalization-unauthorized-immigrant-groups.

Also, if you are interested in learning more about unauthorized immigrant populations at U.S., state, or top county levels, please check out our detailed sociodemographic data profiles: www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/us-immigration-policy-program-data-hub/unauthorized-immigrant-population-profiles.

Best regards,

Michelle Mittelstadt
Director of Communications and Public Affairs,
Migration Policy Institute

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