House Dems to push bills giving citizenship to some illegal immigrants, even amid border surge

House Democrats are pushing two bills that would grant legal status to millions of illegal immigrants in the coming weeks -- even as the Biden administration scrambles to deal with a rapidly escalating crisis at the southern border.

"The Democratic House will pass these important bills and build on their progress with further action to honor our nation’s immigrant heritage and ensure America’s leadership in the world," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. The American Dream and Promise Act would grant citizenship pathways to what Democrats estimate are approximately 2.5 million illegal immigrants already in the country. Many of those are immigrants brought to the country as children, some of whom were given protections under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but would also include immigrants protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs.