GOP Opponent Offers Alternative Reform Efforts
By CaraLynn Caulfield
Congresswoman Laura Gillen (D-Garden City) has signed on as a co-sponsor to the Dignity Act of 2025, a piece of legislation that she said is aimed at overhauling the U.S. immigration system. But one of her Republican opponents says there is another way that doesn’t just offer blanket citizenship to illegal immigrants.
The Dignity Act would tighten Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protocols, expanding work eligibility for undocumented immigrants and Dreamers, and funding a $10 billion border infrastructure package, according to Gillen.
The bill, reintroduced on July 15 by Representatives Maria Salazar (R–Fla.) and Veronica Escobar (D–Texas), revives a previous attempt at immigration reform first introduced in 2023. According to the bill’s sponsors, the legislation seeks to balance border security with humanitarian protections and economic integration.
Under the proposal, ICE would be prohibited from detaining individuals in so-called “protected areas” — including schools, houses of worship, hospitals, courthouses, and playgrounds. The legislation also mandates that families be notified when a relative is detained.
In tandem with stricter enforcement measures, the bill offers a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers — individuals brought to the U.S. as minors — and grants temporary legal work status to undocumented immigrants already residing in the country, provided they maintain a clean record. The entire program would be funded through application fees and restitution payments, not taxpayer dollars.
“The Dignity Act is groundbreaking legislation that will secure our borders while providing a pathway for law-abiding immigrants to lawfully work and remain with their families,” Gillen said. She emphasized that immigration remains “one of the top issues I hear about from Long Islanders.”
New York lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced support. Co-sponsors include Mike Lawler (R–Pearl River) and Adriano Espaillat (D–Harlem). However, Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point) expressed openness to alternative reform efforts that expand legal access to jobs while tightening eligibility requirements.
“Democrats’ open-border policies have been reckless, and violence against ICE agents is disgraceful—but Congress must face reality: America has both an immigration crisis and an opportunity to improve our labor market and fabric of our communities,” LaLota said. “That’s why I would support legislation that offers long-term work visas—not citizenship, Medicaid, or SNAP—to the best of the best non-violent non-citizens who are here unlawfully but are willing to come forward, pass a background check, pay a fine, and get on a taxable payroll.”
The renewed push comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE operations on Long Island. Recent reports of ICE activity in Port Washington, Westbury, and Glen Cove have intensified concerns among immigrant families. Gillen and other lawmakers said those concerns reinforce the need for balanced, bipartisan immigration reform at the federal level.
“Unless we fix it today, and in this Congress,” Gillen warned, “it’s going to get worse.”