Citizenship for Essential Workers Act
Latest action. Committee on the Judiciary subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Immigration, citizenshipFull membership in the national political community: the right to vote in federal elections, hold most federal offices, carry a U.S. passport, and never be deported.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), and Border Safety. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 117-785.
Citizenship for Essential Workers Act
This bill establishes a mechanism for eligible aliens who worked as essential workers during the declared COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency to apply for and obtain permanent resident status. The bill also narrows certain grounds for deportability and inadmissibility.
To be eligible for permanent resident status under this bill, an alien must have earned income at any point during the COVID-19 emergency period doing work deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a state or local government. An alien may also be eligible if that alien is a parent, spouse, or child of (1) an eligible alien who died from COVID-19, or (2) a member of the Armed Forces. Certain aliens shall be ineligible, such as an alien who was a refugee on January 1, 2021.
To obtain permanent resident status under this bill, an applying alien must satisfy additional requirements, including by passing a background check.
Furthermore, the bill repeals provisions providing for three-year bars and permanent bars to admission into the United States. (Generally, these bars apply to aliens who were previously removed or unlawfully present in the United States.)
The bill also narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for inadmissibility or deportability, such as by redefining the term conviction to exclude expunged convictions.
The Department of Justice or DHS may waive certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability (1) for humanitarian purposes, (2) to ensure family unity, or (3) for the public interest.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 15, 2021. 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 12, 2021: Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 117-785.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 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?
Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced it on March 15, 2021, and 18 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 17 Democrats, 1 independent.
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 March 15, 2021, 2005 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1947 days ago, on May 12, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers