U.S. HOUSE APPROVES PROTECTIONS FOR ‘DREAMERS,’ FARMWORKERS

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed bills providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants nicknamed “Dreamers,” who are living illegally in the US after entering as children, as well as for a large number of immigrant farmworkers, Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan reported for Reuters.

By a vote of 228-197, the Democratic-controlled House passed the Dreamers bill with only nine Republicans supporting it. The legislation would allow Dreamers to live, work, serve in the military and continue their educations without the threat of deportation and to eventually win US citizenship if they meet a set of requirements.

The House then approved the farmworker bill, 247-174, to shield about 1 million immigrant laborers, many of whom have been in the US for decades, from deportation. Both measures are among several attempts by Democrats to reverse former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies.

The legislation coincides with Democratic President Joe Biden’s efforts to contain the number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border, many of whom are fleeing dangerous conditions in Central America.

Many Republicans attacked the Dreamer legislation, saying the southwest border needed to be secured before taking any new steps on immigration reforms.

Dreamers, numbering around 1.8 million young immigrants, made the dangerous journey on their own, with parents or hired hands, often to escape gang violence in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and other countries.

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