Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL)
Respect for Essential Workers Act
A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Respect for Essential Workers Act" aims to stop the removal of certain temporary protected status recipients from the United States. These individuals must be "covered aliens" who work or train in essential industries or areas with labor shortages. The bill also allows these individuals to apply for permanent residence status starting 90 days after the law is enacted.
Yes· 3 of 18
- Scored +10
Would immigrants be better off under this?
Directly prevents removal and creates a path to permanent residency for TPS recipients in essential roles.
- Scored +8
Does this make it easier for immigrants already here to become citizens?
Provides a direct path for covered essential workers to adjust to lawful permanent resident status.
- Scored +7
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?
Provides legal stability and a path to residency for low-wage essential workers.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Prevention of Removal: Covered aliens cannot be removed from the U.S. just because their temporary protected status was ended (Section 2(a)).
-
Path to Permanent Residency: Covered aliens are permitted to adjust their status to become lawful permanent residents (Section 2(b)).
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Protection for Diverse Workers: The bill covers a wide range of essential roles, including health care, emergency response, sanitation, food services, agriculture, construction, and family care (Section 2(c)(2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts for individuals are explicitly listed in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would immigrants be better off under this? — Directly prevents removal and creates a path to permanent residency for TPS recipients in essential roles. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Provides legal stability and a path to residency for low-wage essential workers. Would farmers be better off under this? — Protects seasonal and permanent agricultural workers from deportation. Would business owners be better off under this? — Protects a critical labor source for businesses in essential industries. Would people with disabilities be better off under this? — Secures the presence of direct care workers and personal care aides. Would retired people be better off under this? — Protects access to essential home and residential care services. Would people over 65 be better off under this? — Ensures continued access to home health care and residential care providers. Would children be better off under this? — Protects the legal status of family and child care providers.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this make it easier for immigrants already here to become citizens? — Provides a direct path for covered essential workers to adjust to lawful permanent resident status. Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — Prevents sudden loss of income and employment for essential workers by preventing deportation. Does this make child care cost less? — Protects the legal status of childcare workers, helping maintain availability and affordability of care. Is this likely to reduce homelessness? — Prevents potential homelessness by allowing workers to remain in the U.S. legally.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this improve help for people hit by a disaster? — Ensures workers involved in natural disaster recovery and reconstruction can remain in the country. Does this invest in rural communities? — Supports agricultural and construction labor which is vital for rural infrastructure and economy.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — Supports businesses in essential sectors by ensuring their essential workers are not removed from the country. Is this likely to grow the economy? — Helps maintain a stable workforce in essential industries and regions with labor shortages.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — Prevents the removal of healthcare workers, particularly in professional shortage areas.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this protect the right to fair treatment by the courts? — Provides legal protections against removal for a specific class of individuals.
- 3/12/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Introduced in House