This week, the Trump administration announced that it will ramp up enforcement of a relatively obscure legal provision that requires undocumented immigrants in the United States to register with the government.
This move risks adding another layer of fear and anxiety in immigrant communities where the Trump administration’s moves on immigration have already left many fearful to visit previously safe places to address essential needs like health and education.
Those who fail to register could face fines or prosecution, compounding recent moves to criminalize immigration violations that should not be treated as crimes. Last month, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, requiring detention for undocumented individuals who are merely charged with—not convicted of—low-level crimes. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has conducted high-profile raids in major cities, leading to collateral arrests, including of US citizens.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the objective of the new registration push is to push immigrants to self-deport. However, enforcing a registry requirement does not actually meet this goal. Instead, it threatens to facilitate the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations, as other activist groups have warned. ICE arrests and raids have disproportionately targeted communities of color, as would any program of mass deportation.
This isn’t the first time the US government has seized upon registration as a way to advance abusive immigration policies. In 2002, President George W. Bush created the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System program, which required individuals from 25 countries, all but one of them Muslim-majority, to register with the US government. This registry, which has since been dismantled, led to more than 80,000 people registered; over 13,000 were ultimately placed in deportation proceedings.
The Trump administration has not shown that aggressively enforcing registration requirements will serve any legitimate government purpose. On the other hand, it will likely create further stigmatization and criminalization and facilitate mass arrests. Congress should take urgent steps to scrutinize and rein in these new measures along with the rest of the Trump administration’s deportation agenda.
