Trump Administration Enforces Long-Dormant World War II-Era Alien Registration Act
The Trump administration has reactivated the Alien Registration Act, a World War II-era law that requires all non-citizens in the U.S. to sign up with the federal government and provide fingerprints. This law has been inactive for the past 75 years.
What Occurred:
The enforcement of the Alien Registration Act started in April. Police in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Texas, and the District of Columbia have charged people with ‘failure to register’ under the act, a charge unknown to many federal public defenders. As per the report by Politico, most of those charged were already in prison and undergoing deportation proceedings.
The law, created in 1940, was a response to public concerns about the loyalty of immigrants to the U.S. Non-compliance with the registration requirement is a ‘minor offense’ drawing a maximum penalty of six months jail time or a $1,000 fine. The revival of this law by the Trump administration could put undocumented immigrants in a precarious situation.
Since the enforcement of the registration requirement began in April, 47,000 undocumented immigrants have registered using the new form.
