U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen said she has long wanted to fix what she calls “our broken immigration system,” and is now backing bipartisan legislation that aims to make several changes to that system.
The Democrat is one of several lawmakers to co-sponsor the Dignity Act of 2025, which would create stricter guidelines for ICE, grant legal work status to law-abiding immigrants already living and working in the country and create a pathway to citizenship for people brought to the United States as minors, or Dreamers.
The bill also calls for investing $10 billion in border security infrastructure and ports of entry.
Gillen called the bill a “groundbreaking legislation that will secure our borders while providing a pathway for law-abiding immigrants to lawfully work and remain with their families through work and good conduct.”
The 261-page document states immigration and customs enforcement would be required to inform families of a detainee about their arrest and holding location. It also said that ICE agents would not be allowed to detain people in “protected areas,” which include schools, places of worship, courthouses, hospitals and playgrounds.
Several ICE encounters on Long Island have been reported in the past few months, including the detaining of Port Washington resident Francisco Mejia, a man from Brentwood being stopped and searched by ICE agents in Westbury, and four people being detained in Glen Cove on the street.
“Immigration is one of the top issues I hear about from Long Islanders,” Gillen said.
The lead sponsors of the bill are U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar of Florida and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas. They introduced a similar bill two years ago that failed to make it out of the committee.
“Immigrants – especially those who have been in the United States for decades – make up a critical component of our communities and also of the American workforce and economy,” Escobar said.
The Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill was passed earlier this month, which includes $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security, with $75 billion of that funding being allocated for ICE.
“Unless we fix it today, and in this Congress, it’s going to get worse,” Gillen said at a press conference talking about the bill.
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat, are the two other New York representatives to have co-sponsored the Dignity Act of 2025. Over a dozen other lawmakers from across the country are also co-sponsors.
Lawmakers said the bill will require no additional funding from taxpayers.
