[Edward64]

The above article is nice summary but below has more details.

The Dignity Act: Bill Summary - National Immigration Forum

Of interest to me ...

Border Security: Barriers and Technology. Authorizes $25 billion, available in segments until fiscal year (FY) 2031, to complete “an impenetrable border infrastructure system.” This system would include physical barriers and barrier levees. It would also include associated detection technology, roads, lighting, and technology to fully secure the border.

There an additional $10B+ in another paragraph. If the $35B can really "secure" the border, it'll be money well spent. I'm guessing it'll need more though.

The bill incorporates a version of the Dream Act, which allows young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives to obtain legal status. This section could allow up to 1.9 million Dreamers, including the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients, to live and work in the U.S.

Dreamers are in

Dignity Program. The bill establishes a seven-year deferred action program that would grant employment and travel authorization to undocumented residents who have been continuously in the U.S. for at least five years before the bill was enacted. Under the program, participants must pay a fine and contribute to the American Worker Fund.

The approx 11M illegals are in

The bill would create a new uncapped temporary worker visa program for current unauthorized farmworkers called Certified Agricultural Worker (CAW) status. CAW visas would be renewable and five-and-a-half years in length.

Guest workers are in (increased)

Mandatory E-Verify. The bill would require employers to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they have verified that a potential employee is not an undocumented immigrant ... The bill would increase civil and criminal penalties for persons engaged in a pattern of systemic violations.

Nice. Trying to address the demand side.

Elimination of Backlogs. The legal visa backlog is reduced to a maximum of 10 years. Individuals who have been waiting in the backlog (either family or employment-based) for over ten years will receive that visa.

Yeah, I'll believe this when it really happens.

F-1 Visas for International Students. The bill would change F student visas, reserved for international students, to be dual intent visas. In other words, international students would no longer be required to demonstrate their intention to go back to their home countries after completing their studies.

Nice

O-Visa Eligibility. The bill would create a presumption of eligibility for an O visa, reserved for individuals with extraordinary ability, for students who have earned a doctoral degree in a STEM-related or medical field.

This is ... absolutely fantastic. I think an argument can be made to apply this for doctoral degrees other than STEM and medical, and to graduate STEM degrees (e.g. I can see MS degrees from top colleges being worthy of consideration also). But overall, a great step to bringing in more brainy immigrants. I was concerned any bill would not focus on the highly educated.

Some additional items that I did not read in the bill summary but IMO worthy of consideration

• Reforming current H-1B quotas & process
• Allowing for a better skills based immigration (other than doctoral STEM and medical). An example is Nurses, we've had a shortage since the 90's
• Didn't see anything about creating a centralized database & processes to track all in/out visitors, including legal & illegal immigrants. But may be embedded in all the other stuff

In summary, although there are stuff that both sides like and don't like, this is a great starting point for further negotiations, finetuning, and compromise over the next 1-3 years. Really hope it gets done.