Fairness for Immigrant Families Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Fairness for Immigrant Families Act
This bill modifies provisions barring certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) from admission and addresses other immigration-related issues.
The bill repeals various admissions bars against aliens who were unlawfully present in the United States for certain amounts of time.
The bill also modifies a provision that generally makes inadmissible aliens who had been ordered removed and who attempt to reenter the United States without being admitted. Specifically, the bill exempts from that provision (1) individuals less than 21 years old, (2) asylum seekers, (3) individuals who received a stay of removal under a family unity program, (4) victims of severe trafficking, and (5) certain individuals who entered the United States as children.
An alien who entered the United States without inspection may apply for lawful permanent residence during the five-year period starting from this bill's enactment if the alien is the beneficiary of a family-based petition or labor certification.
The bill also prohibits removing an alien with certain pending immigration-related applications if the application is not obviously deficient.
Before removing a parent or legal guardian of an individual who is less than 21 years old and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must review and approve the removal.
Furthermore, the bill makes it a crime to fraudulently provide immigration services. The Department of Justice must make grants to help enforce such laws and assist victims.
The bill establishes the National Office of New Americans to help integrate immigrants and refugees.
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, 2023. 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 March 15, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced it on March 15, 2023. No cosponsors are recorded.
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, 2023, 1275 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1275 days ago, on March 15, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 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