S. 747: Citizenship for Essential Workers Act

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-15 · Immigration · Latest: Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Citizenship for Essential Workers Act

Plain summary

Citizenship for Essential Workers Act This bill establishes a mechanism for eligible aliens who worked as essential workers during the declared COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency to apply for and obtain permanent resident status. The bill also narrows certain grounds for deportability and inadmissibility. To be eligible for permanent resident status under this bill, an alien must have earned income at any point during the COVID-19 emergency period doing work deemed essential by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a state or local government. An alien may also be eligible if that alien is a parent, spouse, or child of (1) an eligible alien who died from COVID-19, or (2) a member of the Armed Forces. Certain aliens shall be ineligible, such as an alien who was a refugee on January 1, 2021. To obtain permanent resident status under this bill, an applying alien must satisfy additional requirements, including by passing a background check. Furthermore, the bill repeals provisions providing for three-year bars and permanent bars to admission into the United States. (Generally, these bars apply to aliens who were previously removed or unlawfully present in the United States.) The bill also narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for inadmissibility or deportability, such as by redefining the term conviction to exclude expunged convictions. The Department of Justice or DHS may waive certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability (1) for humanitarian purposes, (2) to ensure family unity, or (3) for the public interest.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Citizenship for Essential Workers Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] · 18 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] reported raising $1.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s747.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s747 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117