To secure the border and reform the immigration laws.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Salazar (for herself, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Lawler, Mr. Espaillat, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This legislation (DIGNIDAD Act) takes a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. It strengthens border security through physical barriers, surveillance technology, and increased personnel. It creates legal pathways for certain undocumented immigrants to earn legal status, reforms asylum procedures, creates agricultural worker visas, and mandates E-Verify for employment verification.
Who Benefits and How
Undocumented immigrants meeting certain criteria (residency, employment, no serious crimes) can earn legal status through a multi-year process. Agricultural workers gain access to new visa programs designed for farm labor. Border security contractors benefit from mandated construction of barriers and technology deployment. Border communities gain representation through oversight commissions. Employers in agriculture get streamlined access to legal workers. DHS personnel receive enhanced safety protections and equipment.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Employers face mandatory E-Verify requirements and penalties for non-compliance. Undocumented immigrants not meeting criteria face increased enforcement. Smugglers and traffickers face enhanced penalties. Property owners on the border may face eminent domain for barrier construction. Asylum seekers face expedited timelines and stricter standards. State and local governments bear increased coordination requirements.
Key Provisions
- Strengthens requirements for physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and technology along southern border
- Creates Border Oversight Commission with community stakeholder representation
- Establishes pathways to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants with continuous presence
- Reforms asylum procedures with expedited timelines
- Creates new agricultural worker visa programs
- Mandates E-Verify for all employers within specified timeframe
- Increases penalties for human smuggling and trafficking
- Requires threat analysis and strategic plans for both borders
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Comprehensive immigration reform combining enhanced border security measures with pathways to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants, asylum reforms, agricultural worker provisions, and employment verification requirements.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform balancing enhanced enforcement with legalization pathways, designed to address both border security concerns and the status of long-term undocumented residents"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of CBP
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "the_secretary_labor"
- → Secretary of Labor
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes reinforced fencing, border barrier system, and levees
Border surveillance and detection technology including tower-based surveillance, ground surveillance equipment, radars, tunneling detection, sensors, unmanned aircraft systems
Areas in the vicinity of the US border within CBP responsibility with significant unlawful cross-border activity
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology