What is the Dignity Act? Congress reintroduces bipartisan immigration reform bill
Liberal and conservative politics are coming together to support a bill that they say will fix a broken immigration system.
South Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar crossed the aisle in Congress to team up with Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas to propose “The Dignity Act of 2025.” It was initially introduced in 2023, but it didn’t go anywhere.
“No more need to choose between amnesty and deportation, the Dignity Bill is the answer,” Salazar said.
She said immigration is the shadow looming over the economy.
“It takes a lot of courage to step up to say that you want to be part of the solution,” Salazar said.
The president recently signed the “big beautiful bill” that sets aside $150 billion to secure the border. But Zalazar said it doesn’t solve the situation of more than 10 million undocumented migrants.
If passed, this is how migrants would qualify to apply for “dignity” status:
- They must have lived in the U.S. for than five years.
- They cannot have a criminal record.
- Must be working and paying taxes.
If approved, a migrant would pay a $7,000 fine over a seven-year period, and they must buy their own health insurance, with no access to federal aid programs.
“It gives them a dignified life in the promised land,” Salazar said.
In return, the congresswoman said, they would never be deported.
Escobar said it’s not the perfect bill, but the need is urgent and Congress needs to act.
“Immigrants are the backbones of our communities and our country and our economy,” Escobar said. “The vast majority of immigrants have never broken a single law.”
About 20 Democrats and Republicans are signing on, backing the proposal.
“Let me be clear, this is not amnesty. It’s accountability, it’s fairness, it is dignity,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York.
