House passes immigration bills with path to citizenship for "Dreamers" and farmworkers

The House on Thursday passed two proposals that would legalize subsets of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, as Democrats gauge the chances of approving immigration legislation and sending it to President Biden's desk.

Joined by nine Republicans, all House Democrats voted to approve the American Dream and Promise Act, which passed by a vote of 228 to 197. The proposal would allow more than 2.3 million "Dreamers," or unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors, as well as beneficiaries of certain temporary humanitarian programs, to gain permanent legal status and eventually, U.S. citizenship. The Democratic-led House also passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act 247 to 174 that will grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of farmworkers living in the U.S. without authorization. Thirty Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and one Democrat voted against it.