MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral)—The Trump administration has announced it will enforce an immigration registration requirement for people living illegally in the country.
Similar programs have existed off and on in the United States for decades. However, local immigration attorneys are confused and worry that this could be a way to target immigrant communities.
Immigration attorney Abdiel Echevarria Caban views this as pinpointing a certain group of people.
“This is a way to target immigrant communities, let’s be honest about it because it is adding punitive and criminal requirements that are not established in the law or under the discretion of the attorney general and this is a delegated power,” Echevarria Caban said.
The plan is to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) registration requirements for undocumented migrants. Everyone 14 years and older who does not have legal status in the country must comply by registering and getting fingerprinted.
Parents must also ensure minors are registered and failure may result in fines and prosecution. Echevarria Caban views this as unconstitutional.
“When I was reading the law and the revelations and comparing, I noticed that the government can create classifications and registries,” he said. “But, usually they cannot do it for criminalizing the citizens or non-citizens. It does not matter if they are citizens or non-citizens but the purpose is that it cannot be punitive.”
Details on how people can register are still not clear. However, immigration attorneys believe that will be done through an online portal and people will not have to visit the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices.
Attorney Hugo Pina believes the government will roll out a federal registry. He believes this will be sooner than later as the administration is working fast on immigration issues.
“They haven’t given us the link,” Pina said. “They haven’t given us the form that they’re going to use. And so for now, we’re telling everybody to just wait. We have to see, you know what else is going to come from this.”
However, this is where he believes legal challenges can happen. The law goes back to the Alien Registration Act of 1940 which was established during World War II.
“I think the last time it was used, it kind of brings back memories of the times that we put people in concentration camps,” Pina said. “It’s definitely not something that I expected. It’s not something that’s been used in my lifetime, and I’m pretty old, so it’s very scary, for sure.”
Pina says those exempt are green card holders, those going through an adjustment or asylum process. One thing the attorneys agree on is that people should consult with a lawyer before they register or to see if they are already registered.
“Everyone has a right to counsel in this country and at least at this point that right has not been erased from the constitution,” Echevarria Caban said.
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