A Republican congressmember’s revival of a 2023 bipartisan immigration reform bill has the support of Manuel Cunha, whose new group, Immigration Reform for Frontline Workers Alliance, calls for changes to the system.

The bill would expand border security and provide pathways to citizenship for immigrants who have been in the country several years.

Already, ahead of the bill’s official release, it has the support of Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced. On the other side of the aisle, Rep. David Valadao, R-Kings County, says he’s also ready for immigration reform.

Cunha says the bill by Rep. Maria Salazar’s, R-Florida, protects families, helps them go to work without fear, and protects against criminals gaming the system.

His group hopes to see work authorization expanded beyond farms to include manufacturing, restaurants, hospitality, and other industries.

“We’ve controlled the damn border, so now we need to say, ‘OK, how do we take care of the people here, because they can’t leave the country,’ ” said Cunha, a longtime advocate for agriculture through his work with the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League.

 

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Members from Both Sides of Congress Say Solutions for Undocumented Immigrants Needed

Salazar, who represents the Miami area, wasn’t ready this week to comment on the Dignity Act. Details are still being worked on ahead of its release, Gray’s office explained.

Gray said he’s working with members who sponsored the 2023 legislation.

“There are absolutely ways to improve our broken immigration system — but terrorizing families and workers in the Valley and across the country isn’t one of them,” Gray said in a statement to GV Wire.

“For generations, immigrants have been the backbone of the Valley. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends. ICE raids carried out with seemingly no real purpose but to cause fear and send people into hiding do nothing to actually fix what’s wrong with our country’s immigration system.”

Valadao, a co-sponsor of Salazar’s 2023 bill, said the country needs immigration reform. He said he would work with colleagues on border security, fixing immigration, and strengthening the economy.

“It’s past time for Congress to move reasonable immigration reform that restores law and order, ends illegal immigration, and provides a solution to undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements, the chance to live and work here legally,” Valadao said in a statement to GV Wire.

‘If We Can Do it Under Reagan,’ Why Can’t We Do It Now?

The 2023 Dignity Act never made it out of committee.

It called for adding Customs and Border Patrol agents and funding for border infrastructure and equipment. It also required employers to verify the immigration status of workers.

Additionally, it created pathways to citizenship for Dreamers — immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

The revived bill’s verification and background checks are modeled after President Ronald Reagan’s landmark Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Cunha said.

“If we can do it under Reagan, under IRCA, why can’t we do it here with Salazar’s bill?” Cunha said.

Many consider Reagan’s IRCA — which provided border security and amnesty — the last major immigration reform passed by Congress.

President Bill Clinton passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act in 1996, although many don’t consider it as broad or impactful as Reagan’s. Clinton’s bill made it easier to deport people, and people who came to the country illegally also lost the ability to apply for work visas, according to Vox.

Last October, the leaders of the U.S. Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell, signed off on having a bipartisan team produce a bill providing stronger border security and pathways to citizenship.

That legislation appeared to have a chance of passage until Donald Trump’s vocal opposition scuttled it.