How to Prevent Temporary Work Status from Becoming a Pathway to Citizenship
As Congress debates proposals like Rep. Maria Salazar’s Dignity Act (H.R. 4393), which offers temporary legal work status to undocumented immigrants, it is essential to demand ironclad safeguards to prevent any backdoor pathway to citizenship. Though marketed as a limited fix for labor shortages, the Dignity Act risks becoming a stepping stone to amnesty without strict statutory limits. This is something history has repeatedly shown can happen.
Other legislative efforts (such as proposed tweaks to the H-2A visa program or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) provisions within broader packages like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)) are more narrowly focused. These alternatives address specific visa categories or enforcement priorities but do not provide comprehensive legal status to undocumented workers. That makes the Dignity Act uniquely broad and therefore especially in need of close scrutiny and firm constraints.
To ensure that any temporary worker program remains truly temporary, Congress must include the following safeguards:
Absolute Bar on Status Adjustment
The bill must include clear and binding language that prohibits participants from adjusting to green card or citizenship status. Time spent in the program must not count toward lawful permanent residency or naturalization eligibility.
Anti-Precedent Clause
The legislation should include a provision barring federal agencies and future Congresses from using the program as precedent for broader legalization efforts. It must be treated as a one-time, standalone policy.
Trigger Clause for Repeal
A provision should be included that automatically terminates the program if any amendment introduces or implies a pathway to citizenship. This will prevent the legislative process from being manipulated to expand the program's scope.
Hard Expiration Date
The program must have a firm expiration date, with no automatic renewals or political pressure mechanisms that force Congress to extend or convert it into a permanent status. Participants must exit the program unless it is reauthorized under identical terms.
State-Level Reinforcements
States should pass laws denying driver’s licenses, in-state tuition, or other privileges to participants in the program. This will help underscore the temporary and limited nature of the program.
Conservative voters must remain vigilant. The political left routinely uses the language of “temporary relief” to mask long-term legalization agendas. Without rigorous oversight and resistance, even the narrowest programs can evolve into sweeping policy changes. The Dignity Act may not offer an explicit path to citizenship, but by allowing eligibility for permanent residency after seven years, it opens the door to mission creep.
Other proposals, such as adjustments to H-2A or TPS, are narrower in scope but still require strong legal guardrails. Any temporary worker policy that does not include unyielding legal firewalls and enforceable sunset provisions risks undermining the rule of law and repeating the policy mistakes of the past.
