Immigration Reform & The Dignity Act

For far too long, the United States has taken a weak, inconsistent, and ineffective approach to immigration. Our border has been left open and our laws have not been enforced under both Republican and Democratic administrations. This failure has created humanitarian suffering, overwhelmed our border security, hurt American workers, and left millions of people living in uncertainty.

It is time to take meaningful steps toward true immigration reform that strengthens our borders, restores law and order, supports American workers, and ensures that every person is treated with dignity and respect.

The Dignity Act is a bipartisan bill that begins this process.
It is not the final solution — but it is the first serious step forward.
This is the kind of common-sense leadership that puts country before party and begins repairing a system that has been neglected for decades.

Once elected, I will work to strengthen and expand this legislation into a full, comprehensive immigration reform package — one that secures the border, enforces the law, improves legal immigration, and advances the interests of the United States above all else.

This program applies to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. since before December 31, 2020.

This is not amnesty and does not provide a pathway to citizenship.

To qualify, individuals must:

• Pass strict and continuous background checks
   
• Have no convictions for serious crimes
   
• Show stable employment
   
• Pay all income taxes owed
   
• Pay restitution fees for 7 years
   
• Comply with all U.S. laws moving forward
   

Anyone involved in violent crime, trafficking, gang activity, or repeated legal violations is NOT eligible and will be deported.

Participants pay approximately $7,000 over 7 years.
These funds go to the American Worker Training Fund, which supports job training, workforce development, and trade skills programs for U.S. citizens only.

Participants are not eligible for:

• Federal welfare programs
   
• Federal housing support
   
• Medicaid
   
• Federal cash assistance programs
   

This ensures taxpayer-funded benefits remain reserved for Americans.

After 7 years, individuals may earn renewable legal status, which provides:

• Work authorization
   
• Permission to remain in the U.S. legally
   

But they cannot:

• Apply for citizenship
   
• Obtain a Green Card
   
• Sponsor family members for immigration
   

This provides legal stability and accountability, not amnesty.

DACA recipients were brought to the United States as children — often so young that they remember no other home. They grew up in our neighborhoods, attended our schools, worked in our businesses, and built their lives as Americans. For most, the United States is the only home they have ever known.

Many DACA recipients have:

• No meaningful connection to their country of origin,
   
• No family network there,
   
• No cultural familiarity,
   
• And in many cases, not even fluency in the language.
   

Their identity, education, community, and future are firmly rooted here.

The Dignity Act provides a clear, secure, and earned pathway to U.S. citizenship for DACA recipients who:

• Entered the U.S. before June 15, 2007
   
• Arrived before the age of 16
   
• Have lived continuously in the U.S. since that time
   
• Pass rigorous, repeated background checks
   

If background checks reveal:

• Serious criminal convictions,
   
• Trafficking or drug offenses,
   
• Gang affiliation,
   
• Repeated violations of U.S. law,
   

They are not eligible. Their protections can be revoked, and they will be deported.

This approach balances compassion with accountability.

Millions of people are currently waiting to immigrate the right way — through legal channels. Some have waited 10, 15, even 20+ years to reunite with immediate family members or to fill critical jobs in our economy.

The current system rewards disorder and punishes those who follow the law.
That is wrong.

The Dignity Act prioritizes:

• Reducing multi-year and multi-decade visa wait times
   
• Streamlining processing for workers who fill real economic needs
   
• Updating outdated visa caps to fit modern workforce demands
   
• Improving efficiency in family sponsorship processing
   
• Ensuring that those who follow the law are placed ahead of those who broke it
   

We must end the system where cutting the line gets rewarded.
Those who respect our laws must come first.

The Dignity Act is the beginning of a new era in American immigration policy — not the end.

We will not settle for half-measures, political slogans, or temporary fixes.
We are going to restore control, restore fairness, and restore the rule of law.

I will fight to:

• Secure the border with real enforcement and the resources necessary to stop illegal crossings.
   
• Identify, arrest, and remove criminals who threaten our safety — zero tolerance for traffickers, gangs, and repeat offenders.
   
• Protect American jobs and wages so that U.S. workers are not undercut, replaced, or exploited.
   
• Modernize and streamline the legal immigration process so that those who respect our laws are treated fairly and efficiently.
   
• Build a system that is strong, lawful, compassionate, and rooted in American values — not chaos and disorder.
   

Doing nothing is no longer an option.
Ignoring the problem is no longer acceptable.
Both parties have failed to act — and it is time to change that.

Real immigration reform starts here.

And I will work every day — in committee, on the floor, and in my community — to turn this into a comprehensive, effective, and lasting solution.

I will always put America First.
Law and Order.
Human Dignity.
And our future — United and Strong.