WASHINGTON — With immigration emerging as a key issue in the presidential election, numerous immigrant advocates from California gathered in Washington, D.C., this week to highlight their concerns and push Congress for a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for millions of long-term residents without permanent legal status.
At a rally outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning, advocates expressed renewed hope for pro-immigrant policies, especially with Vice President Kamala Harris leading the Democratic ticket.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), emphasized that Harris’s background—being from California and the daughter of immigrants—gives her a unique understanding of the immigrant community.
“She has stood with us in our worst moments,” Salas said, referring to the presidency of Donald Trump. “When our families were fearful, she came to CHIRLA, spoke to our members, and promised to fight for them. And she kept her promise.”
However, Salas noted that they are not waiting for Harris to win the presidency. Members of her group and hundreds of advocates from California and nearly a dozen other states plan to visit congressional offices this week to advocate for updating the 1929 Registry Act. This provision of immigration law has historically allowed long-term undocumented residents to gain lawful permanent status and eventually citizenship. The current cutoff means only those who have lived in the U.S. continuously since 1972 are eligible.
“So that’s what we’re asking: Update this registry law created to bring people out of the shadows,” Salas said. “We need to educate members of Congress and the public. A lot of people don’t even know that the registry law already exists.”
A recent Gallup poll showed that 55% of Americans want immigration levels reduced, up from 41% last year. Three out of four consider the border a crisis or a major problem. However, a strong majority of Americans believe immigration is beneficial for the country, and 70% support allowing immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to become citizens if they meet certain requirements over time.
Despite this support, the bill faces a challenging path in a closely divided Congress, with unified Republican opposition to immigration reform. The House bill, authored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San José, has 82 Democratic co-sponsors but no Republican backers. Similarly, the Senate version, authored by California Sen. Alex Padilla, has 10 Democratic co-sponsors but lacks the 60-vote supermajority needed to overcome Senate filibuster rules.
CHIRLA advocates hope to persuade Central Valley Rep. David Valadao to support the bill. Valadao is a rare Republican who has previously supported bipartisan legalization bills. His office did not respond to a request for an interview.
Meanwhile, Trump is attempting to incite fear of immigrants among voters and put Harris on the defensive on immigration. In his first general election campaign television ad released this week, he falsely claimed that Harris opened the borders to 20 million illegal immigrants. This allegation inflates the number of arrivals and inaccurately assigns Harris a role she never had. President Joe Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes of immigration from Central America, not policing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Although Harris has supported long-time immigrants in the U.S., her campaign indicates she will maintain Biden’s recent asylum restrictions, credited with a recent sharp drop in border crossings. These restrictions are being challenged in court by migrant advocates.
While Congress is unlikely to act on the registry bill or any other immigration legislation before the election, analysts say immigrant rights groups are lobbying in Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of their demands.
Political science professor Fernando Guerra from Loyola Marymount University said advocates are positioning themselves to defend against actions from a potential second Trump presidency or to push Congress and a Harris administration for long-sought legalization.
“The emergence of Harris has propelled momentum on the Democratic side, and it’s also mobilizing advocates for all kinds of different policies, especially immigration,” Guerra said. “Being there today and beginning to shift the narrative can impact what will be done in early 2025.”
At the rally, Blessing Roland-Magaji, 22, supported the registry bill, seeing it as a path to a permanent home in the U.S. A recent Scripps College graduate set to start at Stanford Law School, Roland-Magaji was born in Ireland to Nigerian parents and has lived in the U.S. since she was 11 without legal status.
“There are so many temporary solutions. DACA: I immigrated one year too late. When it comes to adjusting [immigration status] through family, I was too old,” she said. “There’s always barriers for people who just want to work and live here. I’ve almost been in the States longer than I was ever in Ireland. This is my home.”
For another California resident, Teresa Solís, 57, the journey to the Capitol was motivated by deep personal pain. A health care aide from Santa Rosa, she has lived in the U.S. for 24 years, working and raising her children in Sonoma County. Despite hearing politicians talk about a path to citizenship for immigrants like herself, it has never happened. Earlier this year, her sister died of cancer in Mexico, and Solís was unable to visit her to say goodbye.
“That’s why I bought my own ticket to come here,” she said, wiping away tears. “I’m here to fight, not just for me, but for everyone who’s had to go through something like this. It hurts so much, and I thought: ‘If I’m hurting, others are too.’ We need legalization.”