SEATTLE -- The Biden administration has released a slimmed-down spending proposal that includes $100 billion for immigration reform.

The latest Build Back Better plan added up to about $1.75 trillion, excluding immigration funds, because the administration is waiting to hear if the Senate parliamentarian agrees it can be included in the budget reconciliation process.

Alizeh Bhojani, immigration policy manager for OneAmerica, a Washington state-based immigration advocacy group, is glad the Biden administration has recognized immigration as a priority, but is disappointed the latest proposal does not include a pathway to citizenship.

"What we're hearing loudly and clearly from our communities is that we need permanent protections," Bhojani asserted. "Particularly since immigrants are the ones who are the front-line workers, were out in the field, kept this country going through a pandemic."

The Biden administration said the $100 billion in the current budget framework would be used to reduce backlogs in the immigration asylum system and expand legal representation at the border. Republicans say immigration reform needs to address larger issues at the border, which they describe as in crisis.

Bhojani pointed out the Senate parliamentarian has been a source of frustration, twice ruling pathways to citizenship for some people should not be included in the budget reconciliation package because its policy impact outweighs the budget impact.

Bhojani emphasized OneAmerica has spoken with grassroots leaders in the state about these setbacks.

"The first and only thing we hear is, 'How is an unelected official obstructing the legislative process like this?'" Bhojani remarked.

States are limited in how they can support undocumented immigrants, but Bhojani acknowledged Washington state has been able to support folks with COVID-19 aid.

"When you have a federal government that is hostile to communities, states have had to do a lot of heavy lifting," Bhojani contended. "So for example, the Washington Immigrant Relief Fund was a huge victory for getting cash support to undocumented workers when federal relief explicitly excluded them."

She noted the Senate can overrule or ignore the Senate parliamentarian. In the meantime, she stressed OneAmerica will continue its efforts to add the citizenship pathway to the budget reconciliation package.

The fate of more than 600,000 so-called "dreamers" hangs in the balance as opening statements are heard today in a case that could make or break the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Justice Department is appealing a decision last summer that declared DACA illegal. Now the three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit in New Orleans will decide whether to uphold or reject that summary judgment or order a full trial.

Attorney Nina Perales. vice president for litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, said the state of Texas, which sued to block DACA, should not have standing to sue because it cannot prove the state has been harmed.

"Texas has not been able to point to any employers that Texas says hired a DACA recipient instead of a U.S. citizen," she said. "Texas was never able to identify a dollar of state money that went to a DACA recipient."

The state of Texas has argued that DACA takes jobs away from legal U.S. residents, and that it costs the state money in the form of social services.

Gaby Pacheco, an advocate with TheDream.US, said the average age of arrival for DACA participants is seven, and most have lived in the United States for more than 20 years.

"Ninety-nine percent of them have graduated from high school," she said. "More than 90% of them are recipients that are working including more than 340,000 workers deemed essential, including nurses, educators and those who kept food on our tables during the pandemic."

Current DACA participants now are allowed to stay and renew their work permits, but no new applications are being processed. Congress has been unable to forge a consensus on immigration reform or a path to citizenship for dreamers. Perales noted that the Biden administration is expected to release a new regulation related to DACA, possibly in August.

Minnesota has joined several states in raising the age limit for young immigrants who have escaped trauma to receive legal protections in the United States.

This week, Gov, Tim Walz signed a bill increasing the age limit from 18 to 21 to seek Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, aligning Minnesota law with federal statute. The process allows young people who left their home country unaccompanied, fleeing an abusive situation, to secure judicial guardianship at the state level. They then apply for the federal SIJ status, with a path toward citizenship.

State Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, led the efforts through the House.

"It confronts this issue on a regular basis with young people who realize that their immigration is an issue later in their teens and then, are up against that deadline of their 18th birthday," she said.

When the state age cutoff is below the federal threshold, the teen faces deportation. Feist, who also is an immigration attorney, said that puts them back into a traumatic situation. She added that this affects roughly 70 people a year in the state. The bill had broad bipartisan support, although the federal component is under scrutiny over case backlogs.

Despite those issues, Minnesota advocates have said relief at the state level still is important. Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said not only is there more stability for these youth, it benefits their communities as well.

"We're talking about folks who have come here as young people," she said, "many of whom end up finishing high school getting their GED in the United States - and then are such an important part of the labor force."

She said that's especially helpful for rural Minnesota, where there are challenges in finding skilled labor. Immigration experts who track these policies say nearly a dozen other states have taken similar action.

An all-volunteer vaccine clinic run by a farmworkers' union says it's expecting an increase in demand from seasonal migrant workers who want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Baldemar Velasquez said the mobile clinic has provided shots to thousands in North Carolina's low-income immigrant community.

But he pointed out that migrant workers can be especially vulnerable because they travel, live and work in crowded conditions.

"And now," said Velasquez, "we'll convert over to reaching the migrant population when they start coming in for the planting and cultivating and then finally, the harvesting. And that's when we'll get the mobile clinic out to a couple of the big farms."

According to the Environmental Working Group, North Carolina counties with the highest concentrations of farmworkers also have the highest rates of documented COVID-19 cases.

And Purdue University research shows as of last December, more than one million agricultural workers have tested positive for COVID-19.

Velasquez said he's worried about emerging subvariants and how they might impact nationwide vaccine supplies. He added that clinic volunteers already faced an uphill battle getting the vaccine.

"I know from past experiences that when there's initiatives like that," said Velasquez, "not only in the health departments, but in other federal and state agencies - the migrant workers and the immigrant population are the last ones in line. They're the last ones to be reached."

At the University of Toledo College of Medicine, Clinical Professor of Medicine Dr. Richard Paat heads mobile vaccination clinic efforts. He said his staff, primarily medical students, travels to church and work sites in order to reach people who would otherwise have limited access to vaccines.

"By going there to the sites, we became accessible to the population that did not have access to transportation," said Paat. "And again, working with known leaders like Baldemar and Father Molina, there was an instant acceptance of our teams."

Research shows a high percentage of Hispanic or Latino individuals are willing to be vaccinated, and optimistic about the vaccine's ability to prevent illness, especially among young adults.