(Top from L-R) Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, Senators Rand Paul and Alex Padilla, (Below L-R) Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Deborah Ross / Wikipedia

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers led by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, Senators Alex Padilla and Rand Paul, and Representatives Deborah Ross and Mariannette Miller-Meeks reintroduced legislation on Sept. 22 to protect more than 250,000 “Documented Dreamers” — children of long-term visa holders at risk of deportation when they turn 21.

The America’s Children Act, unveiled on Capitol Hill, would offer permanent residency protections and a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the United States legally as dependents on their parents’ work visas.

Also Read: U.S. lawmakers push bipartisan bill to protect Documented Dreamers

“Dreamers are some of the hardest working people I’ve met—and as American as all of us,” said Durbin, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat.

“Documented Dreamers are young people brought to the United States lawfully, but they face the risk of losing their status due to backlogs in our outdated immigration system. As the Trump Administration makes legal immigration all but impossible, this bill would help them stay in the only home they have ever known.”

Padilla, a California Democrat, called the measure a long-overdue fix. “These Documented Dreamers are Americans in every way except one: their parents’ green card is tied up in red tape. Our bipartisan bill would prevent these hardworking young members of our communities and economy from ‘ageing out’ … and create additional green card opportunities for Documented Dreamers,” he said.

Paul, the Kentucky Republican, emphasised the contributions of families who entered the country lawfully. “These children who have legally called the United States home for many years and even decades are contributing members in our communities and to our economy. They shouldn’t be penalised by the government’s failures in addressing green card backlogs,” he said.

Ross, a Democrat from North Carolina, framed the legislation in terms of community ties. “Documented Dreamers are members of our communities — they study at our schools, learn alongside our children, and attend our houses of worship … Despite these deep ties, many of them are at risk of deportation from the country they love and call home,” she said.

Dip Patel, founder of the advocacy group Improve The Dream, applauded the lawmakers’ move. “Fixing this loophole puts in place a policy most Americans assume already exists and ensures that America reaps the benefits of the contributions from the children it raised and educated,” Patel said, urging swift congressional passage.

Under current law, dependent children of visa holders maintain legal status until age 21. But lengthy green card backlogs — particularly for Indian and Chinese families in employment-based categories — often leave these young adults without options once they “age out.” Many face forced departures to countries they barely know, even after growing up in the United States.

The proposed legislation would allow such individuals to retain their place in the green card line after turning 21, avoiding separation from families and disruption of their education or careers. Without a fix, advocates warn, the US risks losing thousands of highly skilled graduates to other countries competing for talent.

The Senate version is cosponsored by Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Curtis (R-UT), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

In the House, the bill is co-led by Representatives Ami Bera (D-CA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Maria Salazar (R-FL), with additional bipartisan support from members including Don Bacon (R-NE), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Shri Thanedar (D-MI).

The measure has drawn endorsements from advocacy and policy groups across the spectrum, including Improve the Dream, Americans for Prosperity, the Niskanen Centre, the Libre Initiative, the National Immigration Forum, and the Council on National Security and Immigration.

For Durbin, the push continues a decades-long effort. Twenty-four years ago, he introduced the original Dream Act to provide legal status to undocumented immigrants who grew up in the US.

That bill and subsequent iterations have faced repeated Republican filibusters in the Senate. In 2010, Durbin and the late Senator Richard Lugar urged President Barack Obama to halt deportations of Dreamers, a request that helped spur the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Since then, more than 835,000 undocumented Dreamers have obtained temporary protections.

The bipartisan group hopes that by focusing on children of legal immigrants — an often overlooked population — the America’s Children Act can overcome partisan gridlock. But immigration legislation has repeatedly stalled in recent Congresses, even with bipartisan support.