The American Immigration Council led a coalition of immigration advocacy groups in suing the Trump administration over its rule requiring illegal immigrants to register with the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security late last month announced that the agency will enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, which includes a provision that failing to register and be fingerprinted is a crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both.
On Monday, the AIC, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Immigration Law Center, RFK Human Rights, and CASA, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, among others.
“This rule is an invitation for widespread abuse. We’re talking about a new reality in the United States, in which anyone perceived to be an immigrant would have to carry their identity documents any time they leave the house and be prepared to show them to law enforcement on demand, at risk of being arrested. The United States is not a ‘carry your papers’ country, and this rule jeopardizes the freedoms and rights of millions of people who live here,” Michelle Lapointe, legal director at the AIC, said in a statement.
In announcing enforcement of the Immigration and Nationality Act on Feb. 25, DHS said “this law has been ignored” for decades, “but not anymore.”
The 1940 law created an immigrant registry to catch suspected communists, and the government aired TV ads reminding all immigrants, including permanent residents, to register annually at local post offices. By the 1960s, the government decided it was too costly and provided little benefit.
President Donald Trump’s planned registry would require anyone in the country illegally who hasn’t interacted with the government to come forward. The administration plans to create a registration form and give migrants 30 days to complete it after the registry is established.
The AIC argues that “DHS issued the rule as a ‘procedural rule’ without soliciting and addressing public comments … but also helps the government identify and address any issues that new rule causes.”
It added, “The Council’s lawsuit contends that the rule is not procedural since it burdens and otherwise affects millions of people and is otherwise unlawful since it is confusingly written and chaos-inducing.”
The Trump rule is set to become law April 11.
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