The U.S. Needs to Create an Easier Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants by Updating the Immigration Registry

By: Lila Saenz and Destiny Pickersgill

Photo by ungvar / Shutterstock

Though becoming a citizen has always been a long, arduous process, things have become even harder during President Trump’s second term. The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, (USCIS), a Homeland Security Department agency that manages immigration, plans to implement a harder citizenship test, make naturalization more expensive, and do more rigorous background checks on migrants (Reichlin-Melnick). As obtaining citizenship becomes more difficult, it is increasingly important that lawmakers provide this vital population a pathway to legal status by updating the immigration registry.

One way to expand citizenship pathways for undocumented migrants is by updating the immigration registry. The registry “is a section of immigration law that enables certain individuals who have been present in the United States since Jan. 1, 1972, the ability to apply for a Green Card (permanent residence), even if they are currently in the United States unlawfully.” (Green Card through Registry | USCIS). This cutoff date has not been changed since 1986. The passage of a bill such as Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren’s “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929” would give undocumented migrants the chance to become lawful permanent residents, and eventually citizens. The legislation plans to revise the registry by allowing noncitizens to apply for permanent residency if they have lived in the country for seven years or more, don’t have a criminal record, and are otherwise eligible for a green card. It would also set a rolling eligibility deadline to ensure that it does not have to be updated too often. The bill would provide 8 million undocumented immigrants, who could contribute an estimated $121 billion to the economy, a pathway to obtain citizenship (Rep. Jim Costa Pushes to Update Outdated U.S. Immigration Registry).

While some have argued that allowing undocumented migrants a pathway to citizenship could lead to more dangerous people entering the country, analysis of Texas Department of Public Safety criminal data proves otherwise. The Department of Justice reported that undocumented immigrants were arrested at less than 50% of the rate of American-born citizens for violent and drug crimes from 2012 to 2018. This demonstrates that undocumented residents are no more dangerous than U.S.-born citizens (Undocumented Immigrant Offending Rate Lower than U.S.-Born Citizen Rate| Committee Repository | U.S. House of Representatives). Furthermore, when immigrants have legal status, they are more likely to report crimes and cooperate with police without fear of deportation, which can improve public safety in immigrant-heavy areas like Houston.

Since President Trump’s second term began, the almost 200 immigration-related actions he carried out during his first 100 days created a fear of deportation that has heavily affected the immigrant population, according to the Pew Research Center (Geiger). The Census Bureau estimates that net international migration, which is the number of people leaving America subtracted from the number of immigrants entering the country, will decline by 2.4 million between 2024 and 2026 (Bureau). Providing undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship would encourage them to stay in the country without fear of being aggressively removed. Immigrants are a vital part of the U.S., and leaving them without a path to legal status negatively impacts all Americans both nationally and locally.

In a city that is nearly 30% immigrant, immigration enforcement policies have already had negative impacts on Houston schools and communities (Kelly). In 2025-2026 alone, Houston ISD lost nearly 4,000 immigrant students largely due to deportation fears among families. Declines in enrollment driven by immigration enforcement can also reduce school funding and long-term workforce development. Houston schools could lose an estimated $51 million in funding due to these enrollment declines. These impacts demonstrate why expanding accessible pathways to legal status would benefit Houston’s economy, communities, and public institutions.

Given the significant presence of immigrant workers in Houston’s economy, providing accessible pathways to legal residency would strengthen the local labor market. Studies of past legalization programs show that immigrants who gain legal status experience higher wages and therefore contribute to the local economy by paying more in taxes. Out of the 51 million immigrants that were in the U.S. in 2023, only a quarter of them, representing about 14 million people, were here unlawfully (Van Hook). Despite making up just a fraction of the overall immigrant population, undocumented migrants’ value to the country cannot be understated. Deporting undocumented workers could lead to a 10% reduction in the Texas economy, a 9% rise in prices in the next two years, and a 2% to 6% Gross Domestic Product reduction in the next ten years (Payan & José Iván Rodríguez-Sánchez). The average immigrant also gives about $237,000 more in taxes than they get in benefits from the government in their lives, according to the Baker Institute (Payan & José Iván Rodríguez-Sánchez). This demonstrates that immigrants are a net positive for the economy. Providing this population with a pathway to citizenship is necessary for the country’s economic well-being.

Providing legal pathways to residency would also save taxpayers money by reducing the number of people entering costly enforcement processes. Continuing the Trump administration’s policy stances on undocumented immigrants could cost the American people around $900 billion over 10 years, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model (Mazin and Reichling). The average cost to deport one person has been estimated at around $19,599, including arrest, detention, court proceedings, and transportation. Recent data show that immigration authorities plan to spend tens of billions of dollars to expand detention centers across the country, significantly increasing enforcement costs under this administration (Jones). Avoiding deportation through legalization programs would save significant federal spending and taxpayer money. Therefore, updating the immigration registry would be a more cost-effective approach, allowing long-term residents to regularize their status while reducing the need for expensive enforcement measures.

This vital population’s contributions to the country demonstrate why policy-makers should make accessible citizenship a priority. Immigrants are an undeniably fundamental part of the United States, and their legal status should be able to reflect their contributions to the country they call home.

The views expressed in this publication are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Rice Journal of Public Policy, its staff, or its Editorial Board.

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References

Bureau, US Census. “New Population Estimates Show Historic Decline in Net International Migration.” Census.gov, 27 Jan. 2026, www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2026/01/historic-decline-in-net-international-migration.html.

Geiger, Abigail. “What the Data Says about Immigrants in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, 21 Aug. 2025, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/21/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/.

“Green Card through Registry | USCIS.” Www.uscis.gov, 27 Nov. 2017, www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-through-registry.

Jones, Jeffrey M. “Immigration Surges to Top of Most Important Problem List.” Gallup, 27 Feb. 2024, news.gallup.com/poll/611135/immigration-surges-top-important-problem-list.aspx.

Kelly, Sam González. “Harris County’s Immigrant Population Is Growing, Census Data Shows.” Houston Chronicle, 22 Sept. 2025, www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/immigration/article/census-data-immigrants-harris-county-21053396.php.

Payan, Tony, and José Iván Rodríguez-Sánchez. “Social and Economic Effects of Expanded Deportation Measures.” Issue Brief, 26 Mar. 2025, www.bakerinstitute.org/research/social-and-economic-effects-expanded-deportation-measures.

Reichlin-Melnick, Aaron. “New US Citizenship Test Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Become Citizens - American Immigration Council.” American Immigration Council, 17 Nov. 2020, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/new-citizenship-test/.

“Rep. Jim Costa Pushes to Update Outdated U.S. Immigration Registry.” Congressman Jim Costa, 7 Aug. 2025, costa.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-jim-costa-pushes-update-outdated-us-immigration-registry.

“Undocumented Immigrant Offending Rate Lower than U.S.-Born Citizen Rate| Committee Repository | U.S. House of Representatives.” House.gov, 12 Sept. 2025, docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf.

Van Hook, Jennifer. “Analysis: Who Are the Immigrants Who Come to the U.S.? Here’s the Data.” PBS News, 6 Feb. 2025, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/analysis-who-are-the-immigrants-who-come-to-the-u-s-heres-the-data.