America can have ICE raids or immigration reform. It’s up to Trump and the GOP | Opinion

The last time Congress and the White House undertook a major reform of America’s immigration process was in 1986, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

The U.S. Senate got close early last year, but then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke out against the proposal so he could use chaos at the southern border as a campaign issue. The effort died, just like attempts years before.

Now, a bipartisan group of House members is making a new try with a bill called the Dignity Act of 2025.

The broad-reaching measure would, among its highlights, create a legal pathway for undocumented individuals living in the U.S. to become lawful residents. This would include the cohort of immigrants who were brought to our country without documentation as children, a group later dubbed as “Dreamers” because they dreamed of remaining in the only country they’ve ever known.

Businesses would be responsible for verifying their workers’ status through an online system.

There is no special provision for those who work in farms, construction and hospitality, but there should be. Immigrants with doctorate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics could receive special visas, as could those with doctoral degrees in a health field.

Security at the nation’s border would be strengthened in numerous ways, including more physical barriers and better pay for border patrol agents.

The Dignity Act of 2025 was just introduced, and it remains to be seen whether House Speaker Mike Johnson will allow it to proceed into debate. Another question is what position Trump will take.

But there can be no dispute that the nation’s immigration process is badly broken and in need of updating. The “border crisis” is as much the creation of bad politics as it is a real phenomenon of people trying to get into the country illegally.

“Regardless of whether it becomes law or not, and even though there’s a lot to like and dislike on both sides, it’s worth highlighting the fact that there are still good-faith efforts to reach a compromise on a subject that desperately needs one,” says the American Immigration Council in its summary of the bill.

Among the co-sponsors of the bill are Democrats Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara and Adam Gray of Merced. Republican David Valadao of Hanford is also a co-sponsor.

Keys to immigration reform

Among the highlights of the bill:

▪ Dreamers would get conditional legal status for 10 years, during which time they can qualify for permanent residence through work, education or military service.

▪ Undocumented residents who have been in the U.S. since before Dec. 31, 2020 can begin a seven-year process that provides work authorization and protection from deportation if conditions and requirements are met, including paying $1,000 a year for seven years in restitution.

Additionally, a 1% levy will be deducted from the paychecks of Dignity Program participants.

“These levies will be deposited into the Immigration Infrastructure and Debt Reduction Fund, which will carry out the provisions of this act, and then pay down the U.S. national debt by at least $50 billion,” the act says.

At the end of the program, participants can apply for Dignity Status – a lawful permanent residency — but not citizenship.

▪ Restitution funds paid by Dignity Program participants will fund workforce education and apprenticeships for U.S. citizens.

▪ Numerous steps would be taken to make the southern border even more secure. Physical barriers and more technology, like next-generation radar, would be utilized. “Humanitarian campuses” would be created at various points along the border to handle asylum seekers.

▪ $10 billion would be used to make ports of entry more secure.

▪ Employers would be required to verify that their workers are documented. The largest businesses would start first, with a phased-in approach finally reaching the smallest companies. Farm labor employers would have 30 months to comply, regardless of size.

Will dignity truly be valued?

Co-sponsors of the legislation are understandably hoping for its passage.

“The Central Valley cannot function without our immigrant community,” said Gray. “Without them, our economy would crumble. The bipartisan Dignity Act reflects this reality and addresses our broken immigration system, strengthens our southern border, fixes our visa backlog, and grants legal protection to hardworking, law-abiding immigrants already living in the United States.”

Valadao said it is “past time for Congress to pass reasonable immigration reform that restores law and order while recognizing the contributions of undocumented immigrants who have built their lives here.”

Immigrant advocates will likely complain the bill fails to grant full citizenship, but that would be a non-starter with conservatives.

The most important thing is that Congress and Trump finally address America’s glaring need for immigration reform. Americans are ready for it: A recent Gallup poll shows 78% of Americans think immigrants should be allowed to become citizens. Even 59% of Republicans agree.

The lack of immigration reform has been detrimental to everyone, from the immigrants whose labor is needed to the employers and communities who depend on such labor.

If Congress and Trump don’t act, it will mean that the U.S. prefers the scorched-earth tactics of mass deportations to finding solutions to an immigration problem that should have been fixed decades ago.

What happens to this bill will say a lot about who we are as a nation.

This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 11:35 AM with the headline "America can have ICE raids or immigration reform. It’s up to Trump and the GOP | Opinion."