American Promise Act of 2019
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 72.
American Promise Act of 2019
This bill provides certain eligible aliens with permanent residence status.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice shall cancel removal proceedings against an eligible alien who applies for an adjustment to permanent residence status. The alien must (1) have been continually physically present in the United States for at least three years; (2) not be inadmissible due to various reasons, such as those related to health or criminal activity; (3) have been eligible for temporary protected status (TPS) or deferred enforced departure (DED) status on a certain date; and (4) have not engaged in conduct that would disqualify the alien from such status.
TPS and DED status allow nationals of certain countries to temporarily remain and work in the United States.
DHS may not use information from applications to adjust status for immigration enforcement purposes. Such information may be shared with law enforcement only for limited purposes, such as to prevent fraudulent claims or to investigate felonies not related to immigration status.
DHS shall establish a grant program for nonprofit organizations that assist individuals with certain immigration-related issues, including applications for adjustment of status under this bill.
The bill imposes various requirements related to the application, such as fees, documents to be submitted, and biometric data for background checks. DHS may waive certain requirements for humanitarian concerns and other reasons.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on May 30, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 30, 2019: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 72.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
NYDIA VELAZQUEZ (D-NY) introduced it on May 17, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 17, 2019, 2673 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2660 days ago, on May 30, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers