The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (the “ADPA”) is a bill that is making its way through the US Congress. At the time of this writing, it has already been passed by the House of Representatives but is still awaiting a vote in the Senate. Its purpose is to offer permanent residence to DACA beneficiaries as well as people who have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).
President Biden is expected to offer relief to the so-called “DACA Dreamers” -- undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. What form this relief will take is unclear, however. He could undertake more sweeping reform with Congressional support, and one of the options for Congress would be to pass the American Dream and Promise Act. Even without this, Biden could incorporate some of its provisions into an executive order.
The election results brought good news for immigrants and immigration advocates, but this news was preceded by good news on the legislative front as well: On October 27th, the 8th Circuit federal appellate court ruled in favor of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants deeming them eligible for citizenship even if they did not enter the U.S. legally.
As elections draw nearer, we continue to see what we can expect if Trump gets reelected. In 2017 and 2018, Trump terminated temporary protected status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Sudan. Now, a September 2020 Ninth Circuit federal court ruling (Ramos v. Wolf) has upheld Trump's decision, stating that the temporary protected status program is not reviewable.
