The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 (H.R. 1177/S. 348), introduced by Rep. Linda Sánchez in the House and former Senator Bob Menendez, on President Biden's first day in office, represented one of the most ambitious attempts at comprehensive immigration reform in decades. Unveiled on January 20, 2021, via a White House fact sheet, the bill promised to "modernize our immigration system" by offering an earned pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, bolstering border security through technology, and overhauling family- and employment-based visas.
Proponents hailed it as a humane response to decades of legislative inaction, addressing border czarina Vice President Harris’ root causes of migration while integrating long-term residents into American society. Yet, the bill stalled in Congress, failing to advance beyond initial committee referrals due to deep partisan divides—a pattern echoing failed reforms like the 2006 and 2013 efforts.
Republicans decried it as "amnesty" that would incentivize further illegal entries, while Democrats lamented the lack of bipartisan buy-in.
This assessment argues that the bill's failure, far from a tragedy, averted a potential deluge of unauthorized migration that could have overwhelmed U.S. borders and strained resources. Instead, the Biden administration's subsequent "Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly, and Humane Immigration System," outlined in a July 27, 2021, fact sheet, forced a more restrained executive-led framework.
By prioritizing enforcement, regional deterrence, and targeted legal pathways without blanket amnesty, the blueprint—bolstered by over 600 immigration-related executive actions—stabilized the system and "saved" America from the flood of illegals that critics warned the Citizenship Act would unleash.
This pragmatic pivot, though imperfect, underscores how legislative overreach can backfire, while calibrated executive measures can restore order amid political gridlock.
To understand the stakes, consider the Citizenship Act's core provisions, as detailed in the January 2021 fact sheet. At its heart was a multi-tiered pathway to citizenship for undocumented individuals present in the U.S. before January 1, 2021. Eligible applicants—subject to criminal and security checks, tax compliance, and physical presence requirements—could secure temporary protected status, transition to green cards after five years, and apply for naturalization after three more, including English and civics tests.
Special expedited tracks applied to Dreamers (DACA recipients), TPS holders, and farmworkers, allowing immediate green card applications. The bill explicitly changed "alien" to "noncitizen" in statutes, signaling a philosophical shift toward viewing immigrants as integral to America's identity as a "nation of immigrants.
"Beyond legalization, the Act targeted systemic bottlenecks. It aimed to clear employment-based visa backlogs by recapturing unused visas, eliminating per-country caps, and exempting STEM graduates from U.S. universities. Dependents of H-1B holders would gain work authorization to prevent "aging out," while a new commission would refine employment verification to curb exploitation. Family-based reforms similarly recaptured visas, raised per-country limits, and scrapped the "3- and 10-year bars" that separated sponsors from relatives abroad. Protections extended to LGBTQ+ partnerships, orphans, and Filipino WWII veterans, with parole programs for Central American reunifications.
Border security and enforcement were not ignored; the bill allocated funds for high-tech scanning at ports of entry to detect drugs and contraband, flexible surveillance along the southern border, and infrastructure to process asylum seekers.
It cracked down on smuggling via enhanced prosecutions and sanctions, funded rescue beacons to curb migrant deaths, and established oversight for agent misconduct. Root causes received $4 billion over four years for Central America, conditioned on anti-corruption efforts, alongside Designated Processing Centers for refugee screenings. Other reforms expanded U visas for crime victims to 30,000 annually, hiked diversity visa caps to 80,000, and funded integration programs like English classes.
On paper, this was a sweeping vision: humane integration meets fortified enforcement. But the bill's fate was sealed by February 2021, when Senate Republicans blocked debate, citing insufficient border measures and fears of rewarding lawbreaking.
Historical precedents loomed large; comprehensive bills had crumbled under similar weight, from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act's unfulfilled enforcement promises to the 2013 Senate bill's House demise.
The 117th Congress, narrowly Democratic-controlled, prioritized COVID relief and infrastructure, sidelining immigration amid rising partisan rancor.
Polling showed broad public support for Dreamer protections but sharp divides on broader amnesty, with Republicans overwhelmingly opposing pathways for undocumented adults.
Conservative critiques amplified these fissures, framing the Act not as reform but as a magnet for chaos. The Heritage Foundation's February 2021 analysis lambasted it for "erasing the distinction between legal and illegal immigration," granting amnesty to millions—including those with criminal records—without robust security triggers.
Critics argued the bill's tech-focused border investments paled against physical barriers, while visa expansions would flood labor markets, undercutting wages for low-skilled Americans. "It would increase both illegal and legal immigration," Heritage warned, predicting a surge in chain migration as newly legalized immigrants sponsor relatives.
Echoing broader debates, outlets like Britannica highlighted how such policies "reward" lawbreakers, eroding deterrence and straining public services.
Pew Research captured the zeitgeist: by May 2021, 68% of Americans criticized federal border handling, with Republicans viewing amnesty as an open invitation.
These concerns were not abstract. Post-inauguration border encounters spiked from 75,000 in January 2021 to over 173,000 by March, coinciding with the bill's introduction and perceptions of lax enforcement.
Had the Act passed, conservatives posited, its amnesty promise—publicized globally—would have amplified "pull factors," drawing record caravans from Central America and beyond. Historical analogs, like the 1986 amnesty's aftermath of renewed surges, fueled this narrative.
Even bipartisan analyses, such as from the Bipartisan Policy Center, noted the bill's high-skilled focus overlooked vulnerabilities to mass low-skilled inflows.
Enter the Biden administration's July 2021 blueprint, a fact sheet that recalibrated ambitions into executable reality.
Absent congressional action, it pivoted to executive levers: "redirect[ing] resources from border wall construction to... smarter security measures" like port modernization and anti-smuggling ops via Operation Sentinel.
Enforcement emphasized "fair" application, deploying 19,500 Border Patrol agents while rescinding Trump-era asylum curbs, yet streamlining expedited removals for ineligible claimants. Border management targeted "unique encounters" below 2019 levels through regional training and infrastructure aid, deterring irregular flows via public messaging campaigns.
Legal pathways expanded selectively: restarting the Central American Minors program, boosting H-2A/B visas for seasonal workers, and cutting Northern Triangle backlogs, all without the Act's mass citizenship track.
Protections focused on vulnerability—$255 million in Central American aid for food insecurity and violence prevention, plus pro bono legal aid to slash court backlogs. Root causes loomed large: $861 million for economic growth, governance, and anti-corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, paired with Migration Resource Centers for lawful referrals.
This blueprint, operationalized through executive orders like the February 2021 directive on regional frameworks, addressed migration's "causes" via diplomacy and deterrence, not domestic legalization.
Early actions included revoking Trump travel bans and prioritizing enforcement on threats, not families.
By mid-2021, these yielded mixed but stabilizing results. Encounters peaked at 2.4 million in FY 2023 amid global disruptions, but the blueprint's emphasis on removals—over 1.5 million in FY 2022—curbed net inflows.
Critics, including Senate hearings, blamed initial "pull factors" like paused deportations for the surge, yet later restrictions—like the June 2024 executive order capping asylum at 2,500 daily crossings—slashed encounters 94% from February 2024 peaks by early 2025.
Data substantiates the blueprint's salvific role. Under Trump, FY 2020 encounters hit 400,000; Biden's first year saw 1.7 million, correlating with policy signals.
But by FY 2024, post-blueprint tweaks like 20 miles of new barriers and hemispheric pacts, daily averages dropped below 2,000—below pre-Biden norms.
The Migration Policy Institute notes a shift: unauthorized port encounters rose from 4% in FY 2021 to higher legal processing, reducing chaotic between-port rushes.
Fentanyl seizures hit records, undercutting smuggling networks the blueprint targeted.
Without the Act's amnesty beacon, these measures—$4 billion in root-cause aid realized via executive channels—dampened caravans, sparing cities like New York and Chicago the 2023 shelter crises from unchecked releases.
Critics might counter that the blueprint was reactive, not preventive, with surges exposing enforcement gaps. Yet, compared to the Act's hypothetical: amnesty for 11 million could have spiked applications by 20-30%, per Heritage models, overwhelming USCIS and incentivizing "catch-and-release" gaming.
The blueprint's narrower scope—expanding targeted visas while expelling 3 million+—maintained deterrence, fostering a 2025 environment where encounters plummeted 71% month-over-month.
Gallup polls reflect abatement in immigration concerns by mid-2025, reversing 2021 spikes.
In retrospect, the Citizenship Act's failure was fortuitous with October 2025 closing out the fiscal year with the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions since 1970.
Its grand bargain—amnesty for enforcement—crumbled under scrutiny, revealing how legislative utopias can court disaster in a polarized era. The blueprint, by contrast, embodied executive realism: humane yet firm, collaborative yet controlled. It invested in prevention abroad, streamlined removals at home, and expanded legal vents without flooding the system. Over 605 actions later, Biden's tenure ended with a border more secure than inherited, averting the "invasion" conservatives feared.
This saga teaches that true reform lies in balance, not boldness alone. America dodged a deluge, thanks to the blueprint's steady hand—proving that sometimes, failure is the ultimate safeguard.
Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.
S.358 - Immigration Act of 1990
