The Dignity Act: Immigration Reform With Bipartisan Potential

The House recently introduced the Dignity Act of 2023, comprehensive and bipartisan immigration legislation, with the goals of reducing illegal immigration, providing a solution for undocumented immigrants, strengthening the American workforce, and growing the U.S. economy.

Though most of the labor provisions are old hat, one is relatively original: the Dignity program, which would grant work authorization to undocumented immigrants if, among other conditions, they paid “restitution” into the American Worker Fund for reskilling native-born workers.Workforce development programs have a history of inefficiency, so the impact of the American Worker Fund would likely be quite limited; this type of legislative compromise may be necessary to garner bipartisan support and pass comprehensive immigration reform, however.

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