Cortez Masto impulsa un proyecto de ley de reforma migratoria mientras los beneficiarios de DACA se enfrentan a la incertidumbre

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has reintroduced a sweeping immigration overhaul, marking her third attempt to shepherd the comprehensive package through Congress. The Nevada Democrat, who remains the only Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate, first unveiled the measure in 2021 and revived it in 2023, only to see it stall in the Senate Judiciary Committee and lapse at the end of each session. By reintroducing the bill, Cortez Masto hopes to reset the legislative clock, although she acknowledged the uphill battle ahead: no companion measure has been filed in the House of Representatives, and Republican backing appears unlikely. The legislation, which has garnered backing from the Nevada Immigrant Coalition, the Nevada chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Las Vegas Latino Chamber of Commerce, seeks to overhaul several facets of the nation’s immigration system. Central to the proposal is an expansion of the “cancellation of removal” remedy. The bill would broaden the definition of qualifying family hardship, raise the annual cap on cancellations and create a formal application pathway through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition, it would allow certain undocumented residents to adjust their status without having to depart the United States—a provision often referred to as “adjustment without departure.” Other key elements include a restored and widened “cancellation of removal” process, increased annual allowances for such relief, and a streamlined USCIS‑based filing procedure. The measure also aims to restore and expand provisions that were previously stripped from earlier iterations of the bill. Cortez Masto’s office emphasized that the renewed push is intended to give the proposal a fresh start in the legislative pipeline, despite the current lack of a House counterpart and the slim prospects of garnering the Republican votes needed for passage in a divided Congress. The senator’s earlier versions met the same fate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where they failed to advance before the congressional calendar expired. The renewed effort underscores Cortez Masto’s continued commitment to advancing immigration reform, a priority she has championed since becoming the first Latina to serve in the Senate. Whether the third iteration will overcome the procedural hurdles that stalled its predecessors remains to be seen.