In the Midst of a Pandemic, Border Crossings are at a 20 Year High

WASHINGTON—Representative Franklin (R-FL) voted against H.R. 6, also known as The American Dream and Promise Act, legislation which would incentivize further illegal crossings during a public health crisis.

“We are experiencing a perilous crisis at our Southern Border thanks to the Biden Administration,” Franklin said. “While we need to address the status of young people brought here through no fault of their own, this bill greatly expands the reach to include known gang members by deliberately stopping authorities from reviewing gang affiliations—rewarding dangerous criminals with citizenship. We should be working to deport illegal criminal gang members to protect our communities, and address the crisis at our border before taking any other action. I urge my Senate colleagues to oppose this bill and work to address our border crisis immediately.”

Provisions Included in The American Dream and Promise Act:

• Grants green cards and special amnesty on a mandatory basis to an illegal immigrant population that far exceeds the eligibility requirements established under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
• Provides green card status to any individual granted or eligible to receive Temporary Protected Status (TPS), regardless of whether they received TPS, entered illegally, or are no longer in the country.
• Loopholes in the bill would also allow individuals convicted of dangerous crimes, including MS13 and other gang members, to receive a green card by including the following exceptions:
  • Allows applicants with multiple misdemeanor convictions, even if the crime was violent or resulted in death or bodily injury to receive a green card.
  • Blocks consideration of serious, violent crimes committed as a juvenile when adjudicating an application.
  • Gang member exclusion is very onerous – only the DHS Secretary can provisionally deny an applicant based on gang membership, and the denial is subject to an appeals process.
  • Includes an expansive waiver of the criminal exclusions.
• Waives the physical presence requirement for individuals deported during the Trump Administration allowing them to apply for green cards. 

###