The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it plans to reinstate a decades-old requirement for undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government.
Undocumented immigrants age 14 or older who have never been recorded by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will have to register, provide a home address and be fingerprinted.
Those who entered the U.S. with visas, border-crossing cards or have been placed in removal proceedings are already in the system.
The Alien Registration Act from 1940 was used at the time to document non-citizens and provided a legal pathway to residency.
Charlotte immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa says clients are anxious about how the Trump administration 鈥� which is pushing to deport millions鈥� might use this information.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really not sure how that information will be used against them," Espinosa said. "It has created a lot of fear, not just among the migrant community, but in the community as a whole.鈥�
Espinosa advises undocumented immigrants to speak with an immigration attorney. Those who are not registered could face fines and legal action.
