DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025

This section amends existing law to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to design, test, construct, install, deploy, integrate, and operate physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, and technology along the U.S. southern border. It emphasizes achieving situational awareness and operational advantage, prioritizing technology deployment, and includes a broad waiver authority for legal requirements to expedite construction and maintenance. It also defines terms like 'high traffic areas' and various technologies.

This section mandates that the Director of the Office of Personnel Management increase the minimum rate of pay for United States Border Patrol agents at the GS-12 grade by at least 14 percent. It also requires harmonization of pay levels between Border Patrol agents and CBP officers and allows for increases in other grades or levels.

This section authorizes the Administrator of General Services to construct new ports of entry along the northern and southern borders and to expand or modernize high-priority southern border ports of entry. It prioritizes the expansion and modernization of existing ports before constructing new ones, with a focus on reducing wait times and enhancing security. Consultation with various federal, state, local, tribal, and property owners is required.

This section significantly amends Section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, increasing penalties for illegal reentry after removal. It establishes a tiered penalty structure, with longer prison sentences (up to 30 years) for aliens with prior convictions for felonies or multiple misdemeanors, and for those removed multiple times. It also clarifies definitions like 'crosses the border' and 'official restraint' and makes prior convictions elements of the crime that must be proven.

This title, known as the 'Legal Workforce Act,' mandates the use of the E-Verify system for all employers in the United States, phased in based on employer size over 6 to 24 months, with a 30-month delay for agricultural labor. It outlines new verification and reverification procedures, establishes penalties for non-compliance and fraud, and creates programs to block misused Social Security numbers and allow individuals to suspend their numbers to prevent identity theft. It also repeals the existing E-Verify pilot program.

This section mandates the establishment of at least three 'humanitarian campuses' along the southern border within 12 months. These campuses will conduct comprehensive processing for asylum seekers, including criminal history checks, biometrics, medical screenings, asylum interviews, and credible/reasonable fear determinations. They are designed to provide sufficient personnel (CBP, ICE, FEMA, USCIS, ORR, medical staff, social workers, child advocates), consumables, recreational space, and access to legal resources and non-governmental organizations.

This section establishes new expedited asylum determination procedures for aliens entering without lawful status after the bill's enactment. It includes a mandatory 72-hour rest period, an initial screening within 15 days, and a secondary screening by a two-person asylum officer panel within 45 days for those who pass a credible fear interview. Cases can be approved, denied, or referred to an immigration judge. Denied cases are subject to expedited appeal or additional review for vulnerable populations or new evidence. Aliens referred to an immigration judge are released into a case management program with electronic monitoring.

This title establishes a path to conditional permanent resident status for eligible 'Dreamers' (aliens who entered the U.S. as children, have been continuously present since January 1, 2021, and meet educational or military service requirements). After 10 years in conditional status, or immediately if requirements are met at application, they can apply to remove the condition and gain full lawful permanent residency, provided they meet further educational, military, or earned income criteria, and pass background checks. Waivers for certain inadmissibility grounds and misdemeanors are available.

This title establishes the 'Dignity Program' for eligible undocumented aliens who have been continuously present in the U.S. since December 31, 2020. Participants receive deferred action on removal, employment authorization, and travel authorization for 7 years. They must register, submit biometrics, pay a $1,000 restitution fee every two years (totaling $7,000), comply with laws, maintain employment or education, pay taxes (including a new 1% adjusted gross income levy), support dependents, and maintain health coverage. Upon completion, they receive 'Dignity Status' (renewable 7-year nonimmigrant status with work/travel authorization) and are considered inspected and admitted for future status adjustments, but remain ineligible for federal means-tested benefits.

This title directs restitution payments from the Dignity Program (Division B, Title III) to the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account, with 90% of these funds made available to the Secretary of Labor. These funds are then used to award grants to eligible partnerships (industry or sector partnerships) to promote apprenticeships and other work-based learning programs for small- and medium-sized businesses in high-demand industry sectors. Grants support business engagement, curriculum development, and comprehensive support services for workers, including post-employment support, childcare, and transportation.

This section grants the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security new discretionary authority to terminate removal proceedings, decline to order removal, grant permission to reapply for admission, or waive grounds of inadmissibility/deportability for spouses and children of U.S. citizens. This discretion can be exercised if removal or denial of benefits would result in hardship to the U.S. citizen family member, with a presumption that family separation constitutes hardship. It also includes special provisions for widows and orphans of deceased U.S. citizens.

This title addresses legal immigration backlogs by raising per-country caps for immigrant visas from 7% to 15%. It also creates new categories of numerically exempt visas for beneficiaries of approved petitions with priority dates over 10 years old (with a $20,000 premium processing fee or a phased allocation over 10 years) and for certain long-term dependent children of nonimmigrant workers. It modernizes child status protection by basing age determinations on the petition filing date and allowing derivative beneficiaries to retain priority dates, with retroactive effect for some 'age-out' cases.

This section amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow F-1 student visa holders to have 'dual intent,' meaning they can pursue temporary study in the U.S. while also harboring an intent to seek permanent residence without it being a disqualifying factor for their nonimmigrant status. It removes the requirement that F-1 students must have a residence in a foreign country which they have no intention of abandoning, and explicitly states that seeking permanent residence does not preclude obtaining or maintaining certain nonimmigrant visas (E, F, H, L, O, P, R, V).