Judiciary panel backs resolution urging Congress to modernize registry for long-term residents

Summary

SJR8, presented by Senator Areguin, asks Congress to update the federal registry mechanism (currently pegged to a 1972 cutoff) to a rolling eligibility date so long-term residents could qualify for lawful status; immigrant-rights groups and unions testified in support and the committee moved the resolution toward the floor.

Senate Joint Resolution 8, presented by Senator Areguin, urges Congress to modernize the Immigration Act registry that currently limits eligibility based on a long-unchanged cutoff date (the transcript cites the historic 1972 cutoff). The sponsor said updating the registry to a rolling eligibility date (for example, seven years of continuous residence) would restore a longstanding legalization mechanism and provide a path to lawful permanent residency for many long-term residents.

Renee Saucedo of the Northern California Coalition for Just Immigration Reform and other immigrant-rights organizations urged adoption, emphasizing family separation risks and economic impacts. Saucedo told the committee that people "pay state and federal taxes and contribute to Social Security and Medicare for which they are ineligible" and that reform would bring people out of the shadows.

The committee recorded a motion to adopt SJR8 and move it to the floor; members also discussed placing the resolution on call for floor scheduling.

What happens next: SJR8 will proceed toward the Assembly floor with the committee's motion recorded and the item placed on call for scheduling.