Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 Act.

This legislation would permit individuals who have lived in the United States continuously for at least 7 years to file for lawful permanent residence here.

The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 Act will provide long-term residents of the United States a path to lawful permanent residence.

Specifically, this bill would amend the existing registry mechanism in the Immigration and Nationality Act by opening the application to register permanent or adjust status to long-term residents who have lived in the United States for at least 7 years at the time of filing.

This bill would also allow long-term residents who have been in the United States for at least 7 years, waiting patiently for a visa number to become available, to immediately file an application to register permanent or adjust status.

This legislation has the added benefit of creating a much needed pathway to permanent residency for Dreamers and forcibly displaced individuals, such as TPS holders, who have been stuck in legal limbo for years.

By making the eligibility cutoff rolling, this bill would also preempt the need for Congress to repeatedly update the registry's cutoff date to a specific year of entry into the U.S.

There is strong precedent for Congress to advance the registry date, which it has done on a bipartisan basis four times since it first codified the registry in 1929. In 1958, Congress opened the registry mechanism to long-term residents of the United States who had entered the country improperly, overstayed visa, or otherwise violated the terms of a temporary period of entry. Congress clearly intended the registry to allow undocumented immigrants to adjust to lawful permanent resident status.

Currently, the eligibility cutoff date for the registry is January 1, 1972, more than 50 years ago. Just a handful of immigrants can currently satisfy this cutoff entry date requirement, rendering the 1972 entry cutoff all but meaningless. From 2015 to 2019, only 305 individuals adjusted their status based on the registry, compared to the 58,914 individuals who did so between 1985 and 1989. If this legislation passed today, long-time, hard-working immigrants who are critical to our communities and economy would become eligible to apply for permanent residency through registry.

Today, about 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. It would significantly hurt the U.S. economy to remove those people, who are essential to our workforce and fill critical gaps across industries. The overwhelming majority of these undocumented immigrants have established roots in the United States and are law- abiding community members. They work essential jobs, pay taxes, and even serve in our military. Leaving them without a path to permanent residency relegates them to second-class status and denies them the opportunity to fulfill the American dream.

It is imperative that we create a path to permanent residence status for immigrants who lack certainty about their futures. This uncertainty is especially salient now as the Trump administration conducts indiscriminate arrests of immigrants who have no criminal records whatsoever, who have U.S. citizen family members, and who are workers in critical industries driving our economy. There is no strategic benefit to removing people that have been living and working in this country for 7-plus years. We can invest in our local communities and make our economy stronger with legislation like this. ______

By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Booker):

S. 2485. A bill to amend section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to allow adjunct faculty members to qualify for public service loan forgiveness; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

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