SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — All non-citizens who are in the United States will be required to register with the government.
Recently, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s decision to proceed with enforcing an existing law that mandates registration for individuals residing in the country unlawfully.
“I think that many people are going to register,” said Bill Hing, professor of Law and Migration Studies at the University of San Francisco.
Registration will be mandatory for anyone 14-years-old and older. They will have to provide fingerprints and addresses.
Addressing concerns surrounding potential criminal activities, the judge mentioned inquiries related to past criminal behavior or engagement in criminal actions without facing prosecution.
The registration policy dates back more than 80 years… the federal government arguing it just wants to enforce a law long on the books.
RELATED: Everyone in the US illegally must register with the federal government beginning Friday
But opponents say the registration requirement hasn’t been universal since it was first introduced.
If someone who is undocumented does not register, it’s considered a federal crime, a misdemeanor.
Professor Hing shared insights suggesting that individuals apprehended without proper documentation are more likely to face deportation rather than legal prosecution for minor offenses, raising doubts about the likelihood of misdemeanor prosecutions in such cases.
“I don’t think the law is actually ever going to be enforced, I think that it’s a mechanism to get undocumented people to expose themselves.”
In Santa Clara County, approximately 140,000 people who are undocumented call the area home.
The county says over 160,000 people are in are mixed status households, which means some family members are citizens and others are undocumented.
“So we are seeing another attempt to terrify, and terrorize the immigrant communities that have made our nation what it is,” said Huy Tran, the Executive Director of SIREN. It’s a community-based organization based in the Bay Area and Central Valley.
“For now, I think the best thing for anyone and everyone in our community to do, is not to register until they’ve had a chance to talk to their attorney, or to get in touch with a legal services organization focused on immigration,” he said.
The registration process also applies to Canadians who have been in the U.S. for more than 30 days.
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