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The next step of the American Dream requires immigrants’ participation

Migrants walking along the border

Asylum-seeking migrants walk along the US-Mexico border fence near San Diego.

Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images

Frazier is an assistant professor at the Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University. He previously clerked for the Montana Supreme Court.

Immigrants have long played an essential role in furthering the American Dream. They have shaped our democracy – eight members of the Constitutional Convention were born outside of the United States. They have developed, refined and spread transformative technologies – you can thank a Scotsman, Alexander Graham Bell, for the telephone. And, they have held us accountable to our ideals by exposing greed and corruption – Jacob Riis, a Dane, and Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, born and raised in Ireland, are responsible for a lot of “good trouble.”

Countless other examples are out there – and they all speak to the central role immigrants play in improving and transforming America. Despite those case studies having been shared and celebrated on numerous occasions, they deserve to be repeated more frequently and more loudly – especially because America’s future as an innovative, inclusive and democratic country hinges on continuing to welcome individuals from around the world.


In the Age of AI, the American Dream must undergo yet another evolution, focusing less on individual success and financial posterity and more on our collective well-being and resilience. That may sound like a bunch of buzzwords, but there’s a whole lot of substance behind the idea of resilience.

A resilient America learns from its mistakes. By way of example, instead of sitting on our hills and allowing social media platforms to wreak havoc on our elections, on our children and on our culture, a resilient America will coordinate and collaborate to direct emerging technologies toward the public interest. A resilient America methodically plans for natural disasters and prepares every Joe and Jane, Jack and Jill, José and Julia for worst-case situations. And, a resilient America updates its democratic institutions, norms and values to align with the times and to adjust to new challenges.

Realizing this new American Dream will be far easier if Congress reaches a compromise to welcome those who share that vision — subject to going through a fair and efficient naturalization process. As made clear by current debates related to migrants attempting to enter the U.S. via our southern border, the status quo is ill-suited to a world in which environmental shifts and technological disruptions will inevitably lead to more immigration. The need to regulate and understand artificial intelligence is a great example — this novel technology poses pros and cons that transcend borders and require analysis from a broad range of experts. If America tries to take on these challenges alone, there’s a good chance that we will miss out on the best policies and practices. If we instead aim to become a global hub for the brightest thinkers and tinkerers in this field, then we will have much better odds of detecting risks and dispersing benefits.

Thankfully, President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed an intent to recruit and retain AI experts from around the world. His executive order on AI specifically addressed reforms that would make it easier for researchers and developers to come to the United States. In practice, though, other planned policies may hinder that goal. As reported by Bloomberg, proposed changes to the H-1B visa program may contradict Biden's efforts to create an international AI talent pipeline. As it stands now, the regulation would rely on a narrow definition of "speciality occupation" to decide who may qualify for expedited entry into the country. This definition would not include individuals with a general degree such as engineering. The proposal should be scrapped or amended. Now’s not the time for drawing arbitrary lines that diminish our collective capacity to solve major problems.

From AI to whatever challenges lie ahead, a more resilient America will be much easier to achieve if we can tap into the world’s diversity of perspectives and expertise. This version of the American Dream is one that should transcend political lines and unite us all around a future in which more people have confidence in our institutions, our communities and our collective ability to withstand an increasingly chaotic and unpredictable world.

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Senate Bill 16 would require new registrants and some existing registered voters to prove they are U.S. citizens.

Amber Mills, issue advocacy director for the Move Texas Civic Fund, said the requirement would be in addition to what the state already does to check someone's eligibility.

"When you're completing a voter form, you do also have to submit either your driver's license number or your Social Security number," Mills pointed out. "That's really important because that is how the state verifies who you are, and that's a key indicator that they use to protect their databases on the back end."

Even if you were born in the U.S., the bill could require you to show proof of citizenship with a passport or birth certificate matching your current name. According to the Secure Democracy Foundation, more than 38% percent of rural and small-town Texans do not have a passport.

Anyone who cannot prove citizenship would be placed on a separate voter roll and could only cast ballots in the U.S. House and Senate races.

Emily French, policy director for the advocacy group Common Cause Texas, said the additional barriers could prevent many residents from casting their votes in local, state and presidential races.

"All the DPS systems, all the immigration systems which say that they are citizens, but there can still be mistakes that mark them as noncitizens and could throw them off the voter rolls until they come in with these documents that they don't have," French explained.

The bill directs the Texas Secretary of State's Office to check all registered voters' status by the end of the year and send the names of registered voters who have not proven their citizenship before September 2025 to county elections offices.

Mills noted if you are flagged, there is no online system to comply with the request and all paperwork must be submitted in person.

"We are not disputing the goal of having only eligible citizens on the voter rolls, but we know that Texas already has strong systems in place," Mills emphasized. "It's ultimately the state's responsibility, the county's responsibility to do these voter roll checks, but what SB 16 would do is not change any of that, not improve any of that. It would just add an additional burden."

Proposed Proof-of-Citizenship Bill Could Impact All Registered Voters in Texas was originally published by the Public News Service and is republished with permission.

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