Rep. Carlos Curbelo on Thursday refiled legislation that would let people brought illegally into the U.S. as children to remain, the Miami Herald reported.
The "Recognizing America's Children Act" sponsored by Curbelo, a Florida Republican, would provide a legal path for illegal entrants into the U.S. before Jan. 1, 2012, if they were 16 or younger at the time, the Herald reported.
The bill is similar to the DREAM Act, a failed Senate bill in 2010. Because of that act, children brought to the U.S. illegally have been nicknamed "dreamers."
Curbelo, who first filed the legislation last June, said he's trying again because President Donald Trump has left intact a program from President Barack Obama's administration, DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
"This White House has sent a very strong message by preserving the executive order that protects these young people. We know that they've been very aggressive when it comes to immigration policy, so it certainly stands out that they have left the DACA executive order untouched," Curbelo said.
The bill would give conditional immigration status to high school graduates who do not have a serious criminal record or rely on public assistance. If, over a 5-year time frame, they graduate from high school, join the military, or keep a job, they can apply for residency and—eventually—citizenship, the Herald report said.
"We also are encouraged by numerous comments that the president has made in public about his desire to treat these young Americans, as I would call them, with the compassion and respect they've earned," the congressman said.
Eight co-sponsors are joining Curbelo on the bill, the Herald reported.
"I hope Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate can get behind this legislation and that it can soon be sent to the president's desk for his signature," Curbelo said.
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