The Department of Homeland Security issued a notice on Wednesday requiring millions of immigrants to register their presence in the United States with the federal government or face stiff penalties.

Those who must register include people who entered the U.S. without being processed by immigration authorities as well as Canadians without evidence of an arrival or departure record, which often includes tourists and those on business.

The registration process will be effective by April 11. If people don’t register within the next month, they could face a $5,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both.

Homeland Security estimated in public documents that the rule could apply to between 2.2 million and 3.2 million people. The required registration is the latest move by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration and targets some undocumented immigrants, who must now make the choice between registering — and exposing themselves to deportation — or not registering and risking criminal prosecution.

The agency has created a new form and an online process that people can use to register. Immigrants who do not need to register include permanent residents, those with an arrival and departure record known as an I-94 document, individuals in immigration court proceedings or with pending green card applications, those with work permits, and those who have been issued an immigrant or non-immigrant visas.

Under the new rule, Canadian non-immigrants staying in the U.S. for 30 days or longer, and who were not issued a registration document like Form I-94 upon entry, will need to submit the new form. Traditionally, Canadians have not been required to register with the federal government, but Homeland Security is changing the rule, according to the notice. Many Canadians spend their winters in Florida. According to Visit Florida, the agency created by the state to promote tourism, close to 3.3 million Canadians visited the state last year.

The registration’s legal basis is rooted in the Alien Registration Act of 1940, a World War II law that has been rarely enforced. It mandates that, with limited exceptions, people over the age of 14 in the U.S. for more than 30 days must be registered and fingerprinted, and that parents must ensure that unregistered children do so as well within a month of their 14th birthday.

Homeland Security said in the notice that the purpose of the registration is to comply with the requirements of existing immigration law and that the registration will improve “law enforcement efficacy” because it will allow the agency access to more data.

The federal notice also refers to an executive order from President Donald Trump’s first day in office in which he declared that undocumented immigrants were invading the United States and directed agency heads to create the registration requirements.

Immigration advocates and lawyers denounced the measure and argued that the government is creating a list to easily identify people they can target for deportation.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association said that the new requirements “threaten to drag” the country “back to a dark period of history when simply appearing ‘foreign’ puts you at risk of law enforcement arrest, detention, and even more severe consequences.”

“This registration requirement will amount to a nationwide ‘show me your papers’ regime,” assocation President Kelli Stump said. “Anyone who might be profiled — including U.S. citizens and immigrants with legal status — will live in fear, unable to go anywhere without their passport or other documentation. We’ve already heard of U.S. citizens swept up in raids, arrested and detained. This will just make it exponentially worse.”

John De la Vega, a Miami-based immigration attorney, told the Miami Herald that the registration form isn’t the most efficient way to enforce immigration laws.

“What’s important is to pass an immigration reform because, unfortunately, the system is collapsing, and we need to update our laws so that they can present alternatives for those who have contributed to the communities, and offer them a chance to become ... residents,” he said.

De la Vega said immigrants concerned about the registration requirement should consult an immigration attorney to verify if they need to register or not. He said that not registering could be used as a factor to be denied immigration benefits or bail in immigration proceedings.

According to the latest Homeland Security estimates, about 11 million people are living in the U.S. without legal status. The majority of these people either entered the country without an immigration inspection or were granted temporary admission and overstayed their authorized period of stay.

The Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based non-partisan think tank, estimates the number of unauthorized immigrants is higher, at approximately 13.7 million as of mid-2023.

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