WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14159, establishing the Trump Registry system, where all immigrants aged fourteen and over must register with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) with fingerprints and addresses. Today, while trust in the government is at an all-time low among immigrant communities, the Trump Registration Requirement goes into effect, and many families will be faced with the impossible decision to register and risk family separation.
The National Partnership for New Americans, a coalition of 86 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states, urges everyone in our communities to consult with a trusted legal representative before creating an account or submitting forms or information to the federal government. You can find a legal advisor in your community at readytostay.org, a platform that provides immigrants and advocates with the latest information on immigration laws and trusted legal service providers.
Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “Trump’s Registration Requirement is akin to the nation’s past registry mandates, from Japanese internment of American citizens during World War II to the mandated registration of Muslim community members in the aftermath following 9/11. This new registry effort, along with the many attacks this week on immigrants from canceling their social security numbers, to IRS data sharing, to the audits of potential green-card applicants’ social media for their political views, put us on a dangerous trajectory of an authoritarian state. All these measures are designed to sow fear, separate families, and target a class of people out of fear and hate. This registry, along with examples from similar efforts of the past, resulted in irreparable harm from government-sanctioned racial profiling— families were imprisoned, thousands were deported and separated from their families, and mothers, fathers, and children were humiliated and exiled due to a misguided, fearful, and hateful rationale.
The immigrant community knows all too well the goals of increased enforcement under Trump and will be even more fearful to come forward. We encourage all immigrants to seek advice from legal counsel, and we call on members of Congress—across both aisles—to denounce the ‘recycling’ of pernicious programs that criminalize individuals and violate human rights.”
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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 86 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnership for americans.org.