Trump to force migrants to join registry or face fines, prison

Alicia A. Caldwell, Bloomberg News on Feb 25, 2025

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The Trump administration is planning to require undocumented immigrants to join a federal registry, threatening potential fines, prison time and deportation for anyone caught failing to participate.

Adding to President Donald Trump’s broad immigration crackdown, enforcement of the “Alien Registration Requirement” is rooted in a 1940 law intended to root out subversive activities and identify anyone trying to overthrow the U.S. government.

“The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws — we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

Under the new requirement, any foreigner 14 years old or above who hasn’t previously been fingerprinted or registered by the U.S. government must join the registry and update their current address if they have been in the country more than 30 days.

There’s been previous attempts to use a registration system on a smaller scale. Former President George W. Bush started a requirement for some visa holders shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, known as NSEERS, targeted all males 16 and older from 25 countries, all but one of which had a Muslim majority.

In Trump’s current term, he has pledged to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. During his first two weeks in office, authorities made about 10,000 arrests and used military planes to carry out deportations to Central and South America.

But the pace of arrests has slowed, prompting frustration within the administration and multiple leadership shakeups at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as details of some planned arrest operations have leaked and migrant advocates and others have launched campaigns to advise migrants of their rights.

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