The Biden administration has introduced several new pieces of federal immigration legislation over the past few months. On February 18, 2021 the U.S Citizenship Act of 2021 was proposed with the goal of allowing most undocumented immigrants to become citizens. As of right now undocumented immigrants make up about 3.4 percent of the current U.S. population which comes out to roughly 11 million people.

A few other pieces of legislation that are being brought to the House and Senate in 2021 are the American Dream and Promise Act as well as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Having these bills passed would essentially provide protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants, as it is meant to secure a path to citizenship. Some groups that would qualify under these acts include DACA recipients who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children. In addition, immigrants  who are eligible for temporary protected status would fall in these parameters. Lastly, these bills would also include agricultural and essential workers.

The Biden Administration aims to create a more flexible legal immigration system by working with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of labor. Although the bill aims to increase the number of employment visas distributed, as unemployment rates continue to rise it is more difficult to find employers that are open to sponsor immigrants. Employers are more inclined to sponsor foreign workers who have previously been employed by their company on a temporary visa as it can be an expensive process for both parties.

Although many new proposed plans are being brought to the table there is a current policy that will stay in place. All immigrants must hold a permanent resident card for a certain period of time prior to submitting a naturalization petition. The only aspect changing is she different paths for immigrants to apply through.