DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025
The DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025 is a comprehensive immigration reform package that combines significant border security measures with pathways to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants and reforms to the legal immigration system. The bill establishes mandatory E-Verify for all employers with phased implementation based on company size, creates "humanitarian campuses" for processing asylum seekers with expedited determination procedures, and increases penalties for illegal reentry and border-related crimes. It also creates two main pathways to legal status: a Dream Act provision for long-term residents who entered as children (requiring educational attainment or military service), and a "Dignity Program" for individuals continuously present since 2020 that requires restitution payments, employment, and compliance with reporting requirements. The bill further reforms legal immigration by raising per-country caps from 7% to 15%, reducing visa backlogs through premium processing options, and modernizing student and work visa categories to allow dual intent.
Key Points
- 1Mandates E-Verify for all employers with implementation phased over 24 months based on company size, with increased penalties for non-compliance (up to $25,000 per violation)
- 2Establishes "humanitarian campuses" at high-traffic border sectors for asylum processing with expedited procedures including secondary screening by two asylum officers
- 3Creates the Dignity Program requiring $7,000 in restitution payments over 7 years, continuous employment or education, and health insurance in exchange for deferred action and work authorization
- 4Strengthens border security through increased physical barriers, 95,000 annual flight hours for Air and Marine Operations, and new criminal penalties for "illicit spotting" and illegal reentry
- 5Raises per-country caps for employment-based visas from 7% to 15% and creates premium processing options ($20,000 fee) to reduce visa backlogs for those with priority dates more than 10 years old