# 119-hr-5333: 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act

119-hr-5333, 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY); status introduced (as of 2026-09-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5333
- As of: 2026-09-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5333
- Congress: 119
- Title: 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-11
- Sponsor: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 33
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-17

## Summary

**Creates a path to lawful permanent residence for certain workers and volunteers who did rescue, recovery, cleanup, demolition, or related work after the September 11, 2001 attacks.** It targets people exposed at specific sites and gives them a special chance to apply for green cards. - Rescue and cleanup workers and volunteers who worked onsite in lower Manhattan, the Staten Island landfill, or barge loading piers would be eligible if they meet the bill's hour and date rules for service at those sites. - Vehicle‑maintenance workers who handled vehicles contaminated by World Trade Center debris would be eligible based on exposure during the months after the attacks. - Active or retired firefighters, police, recovery contractors, and volunteers who worked at the Pentagon or Shanksville sites in the weeks after 9/11 would qualify. - Applicants would have 18 months after enactment to apply, with possible extensions for compelling circumstances, and would get work authorization while their application is pending. - The Secretary could waive filing fees for people on means‑tested benefits, those with income at or below 250 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines, or those facing extraordinary hardship. - Requests for fee waivers would not be used in public charge determinations, and affidavits of support would not be affected by fee waiver requests. - The bill limits use of application information for immigration enforcement and sets a civil penalty up to $10,000 for improper disclosure. - Immigrant visas allocated under this program would not reduce the total number of immigrant visas otherwise authorized under current immigration law.

## Cosponsors (33)

- Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52] (D-CA), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] (D-NY), 2025-09-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46] (D-CA), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25] (D-NY), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2026-08-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] (D-TX), 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Green cards for 9/11 immigrant workers: benefit, high. If enacted, this would let certain noncitizen 9/11 workers and volunteers apply for a green card. You would need to apply within 18 months after enactment. The Secretary could extend that window for compelling reasons. You would qualify if you meet one of these service rules. For lower Manhattan so…
- Fee waivers and public-charge protection: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would waive green‑card filing fees if you get a means‑tested benefit, your income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines, or you face extraordinary financial hardship. If a waiver is first denied, you would get a notice and 90 days to send more proof and keep your or…
- Faster rules so you can apply: benefit, low. If enacted, DHS would have to publish interim rules within 90 days and let eligible people apply right away. Those rules would take effect on publication. Final rules would be due within 180 days after the interim rules. Usual federal paperwork approval rules would not apply to this rollout.
- Privacy rules for 9/11 applicants: benefit, low. If enacted, the government would not be allowed to use your application information for immigration enforcement or refer you to ICE or CBP just because you applied. Your information could be shared only to process your case, stop fraud, protect national security, or investigate a felony not tied to…
- Penalty for lying on applications: cost, high. If enacted, anyone who willfully lies or leaves out key facts on the application could be denied all benefits under this section. That could block your green‑card chance under this bill.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2763: American Family Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5333 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5333)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-12)
- [119-hr-2763: American Family Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2763)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5333 (as of 2026-09-17).