On November 19th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Democrats' social and environmental bill on Capitol Hill in Washington. The measure could benefit, in some respects, around 7 million undocumented migrants if it gets approval in the Senate.

The initiative is part of the broader project called "Build Back Better," which seeks to tackle the Covid-19 crisis, climate change, and the social exclusion of millions of undocumented immigrants. Despite the measure approval, a US$ 1.8 trillion package will face many difficulties to be approved in the Senate in December of this year or January 2022, when it will be discussed.

That is a delicate issue for Democrats, since during the campaign they promised to promote citizenship to immigrants. However, given the balance of power in Congress, this is not possible. The bill under discussion allows undocumented migrants to apply for work permits, travel abroad, obtain driver's licenses, and protect against deportation for up to ten years.

In addition to the barriers created by Republicans, who speak out against the excuse that this would widen the budget deficit by incorporating immigrants into the welfare system, House Democrats maneuvered to create a grant of citizenship that, in practice, works as a kind of "parole" to immigrants.

Days before the bill passed in the House, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reproached the proposal: "There are certain advocacy groups, national organizations, that may have a footprint here in Washington but do not have a presence in immigrant communities.", said Ocasio-Cortez in an interview with Latino Rebels on Monday night in Capitol. "They have been hampering progress in some of these negotiations because actual grassroots organizations have been pushing for registry.

According to a report of November 18th, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the inclusion of 6.5 million immigrants in the probation program, including three million who already qualify for a green card as relatives of US citizens. "The consideration for this category of immigrants was a late arrival in the bailout negotiations on Capitol Hill, which until recently focused primarily on supporting undocumented immigrants without green card eligibility."

Some grievances are visible, even according to reports presented by the Latin Rebels news channel: "It's like we don't even exist," said a tech worker living on a work-based visa in California, who described their relationship with their employers as "indentured servitude" during a July phone interview with Latino Rebels. "Democrats ignore us, then immigrant rights group attack us for working with Republicans."

However, some immigration advocacy leaders now ask for more: "Our fight for citizenship is not over," the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) tweeted minutes after the bill passed. "The bill now goes to the Senate, where we have a chance to fight for more."