Experts break down how Trump’s illegal immigrant registry will help ICE round up millions – and why migrants may register
President Trump’s plan to require all illegal migrants to register their identity is likely to put millions of immigrants in the crosshairs of the mass deportation effort — because the vast majority won’t comply, sources and experts tell The Post.
That will actually make it easier for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to round up anyone who entered the US illegally; migrants who can’t prove their immigration status and who are not registered will likely be subject to immediate arrest under the proposal.
The plan is an attempt to move millions of migrants out of the murky and complicated immigration court system — and slap them with criminal charges that will expedite detaining and deporting them, the sources said
“I think it’s a joke that they think aliens will actually report to register,” said one Homeland Security source.
Another source said that migrants with pending asylum claims or similar applications will actually register “so they can prove they’re not cheating or running away.”
Former Denver ICE chief John Fabbricatore told The Post that the move “puts more of a consequence on being in the country without permission,” including illegal border crossers and immigrants who overstayed their visas.
Migrants who are considered to be in the country illegally are currently considered to be committing a civil offense and not a criminal one.
It’s a major expansion of the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort, which has said it is focused on mainly catching criminals, to target millions of illegal migrants.
However, reports are emerging that ICE is broadening its crackdown — with many migrants who haven’t been charged with crimes being swept up in immigration raids.
Under Trump’s registration plan, all illegal immigrants over the age of 14 will be required to submit their fingerprints and home addresses to the registry, according to US Citizens and Immigration Services.
And if they don’t register, they could be hit with up to a $5,000 fine and face up to six months in prison, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
“Aliens in this country illegally face a choice,” read a memo from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on the incoming policy. “They can return home and follow the legal process to come to the United States or they can deal with the consequences of continuing to violate our laws.”
ICE picked up 20,000 migrants in just one month — almost as many as the Biden administration caught in all of fiscal year 2024, the DHS recently said.
But border czar Tom Homan expressed frustration that federal agents are moving fast enough.
Trump and members of his administration have said they are hoping to deport millions of migrants, which will require a significant acceleration in arrests.
Once the registry is up and running, illegal migrants will have to submit their information to the feds within 30 days, according to documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal.
“Once an alien has registered and appeared for fingerprinting (unless waived), DHS will issue evidence of registration, which aliens over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times,” read a notice on the US Citizens and Immigration Services website posted Tuesday.
“It is the legal obligation of all unregistered aliens (or previously registered children who turn 14 years old) in the United States to comply with these requirements,” the notice continues. “Failure to comply will result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution and the payment of fines.”
It’s not the first time the US government has created such a registry. A registry to hunt down suspected communist immigrants was created in 1940, but it stopped by the 1960s after proving to be too costly, according to the Journal.
Former President George W. Bush also created an immigration registry following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the arrests and deportations of tens of thousands of immigrants.
