Trump administration plans to require undocumented immigrants to join registry or face jail, fines

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents transfer an immigrant after an early morning raid in Duarte in 2022. “No alien will have an excuse for failure to comply with this law,” the announcement states, noting that the registry is not a form of legal status and does not establish employment authorization. “I would just encourage all of us to imagine how awful it would be to have to have that conversation with your family and how deeply troubling that our government is putting people in that position at the same time that they are unleashing policies and announcements that spread terror throughout those communities,” said Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center. “You can’t look at this registry announcement in isolation.” Altman said that because the online registry system hasn’t yet been set up, it’s unclear what exactly the process will look like. “A categorical stripping of civil rights and civil liberties usually follows.” Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign encouraging those here without status to “self-deport.” “If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you,” she said.