A bipartisan immigration proposal was the focus of a town hall in Reading where community leaders, elected officials and residents gathered to discuss what supporters call a long-overdue step toward stabilizing the workforce.
The town hall at Jet Set, 118 S. Ninth St., marked the first stop on a nationwide bipartisan advocacy campaign promoting the Dignity Act of 2025.
The bill, introduced in Congress last year by U.S. Reps. María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, and Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, would tighten border security while giving some undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S. a way to legally work and avoid deportation if they pass background checks, pay taxes and meet other requirements, according to information distributed at the meeting by U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s office.
Houlahan, a Chester County Democrat who also represents part of Berks County, cosponsored the bill along with 19 other Democrats and 20 Republicans.