Biden congressional allies are introducing his ambitious immigration bill with citizenship path


Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) on Thursday will introduce legislation backed by President Biden to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, and Sen. Bob Menedez (D-N.J.) will introduce it in the Senate next week. The sweeping bill would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, starting with the DREAMERs — people brought to the U.S. illegally as children — and immigrants who qualify for Temporary Protected Status.
The bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, would also increase the number of certain visas, replace the word "alien" with "noncitizen" in U.S. immigration code, fund more immigration judges and support staff to help clear the backlog of asylum seekers, send funds to Central American countries to discourage emigration, and increase security at ports of entry to fight smuggling of drugs and other contraband. It would try to avert a future reprise of former President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban" by limiting the power of presidents to curtail immigration.
The legislation wraps together all Biden's major immigration policy priorities. "But White House officials were having trouble Wednesday convincing advocates and even reporters that it could garner the support of at least 10 Republicans in the Senate," Politico's Anita Kumar reports. "Behind the scenes, the White House has accepted that it will need to break the bill up into pieces," including standalone legislation on DREAMERs and TPS recipients.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some Democrats "are growing increasingly uneasy that the White House is walking into a political buzzsaw in its zeal to unwind hardline Trump administration policies," Politico reports, especially House Democrats representing Texas border districts. "If we go off the rails, it's going to be bad for us," said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). "Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths." On the other hand, ABC News notes, if Democrats "wait for Republican support, Congress could be looking at another failed attempt at immigration reform."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Crossword: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Codeword: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resign
Speed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime minister
In the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace plan
Speed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a week
Speed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime minister
Speed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s plan
Speed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sites
Speed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace plan
Speed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza