Judge Sides With Trump Admin on Identification Rules for Illegal Immigrants

The federal government requires illegal immigrants to abide by identification rules including registration and fingerprinting.

Illegal immigrants cross into the United States from Mexico to be processed by Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, on May 8, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to enforce identification requirements for immigrants present in the United States illegally.

In a ruling on Thursday, Judge Trevor Neil McFadden said that a rule by the Department of Homeland Security to require illegal immigrants to comply with statutory registration and fingerprinting may move forward as plaintiffs arguing against it failed to “demonstrate that they have standing to bring this suit.”

The case was filed on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, with the main plaintiff being the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, along with other immigrant advocacy groups.

On Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump took office for the second time, he issued an executive order, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” in which he stated that illegal immigrants must be identified and registered with the federal government.

Following his order, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Feb. 25 that the DHS would fully enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), under which illegal immigrants will be tracked and compelled to leave the country voluntarily.

Criminal penalties will be imposed on those failing to leave the country, failing to register their identities with the federal government and be fingerprinted, or failing to inform authorities of a change in address.

“An alien’s failure to register is a crime that could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both. For decades, this law has been ignored—not anymore,” said the DHS announcement, referring to the Alien Registration Act, which was first enacted by Congress in 1940.

The registration requirement is set to be effective from April 11, 2025.

According to the alien registration requirement, all illegal immigrants 14 years and older who were not registered and fingerprinted when applying for a U.S. visa, and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, must apply for registration and fingerprinting.

The INA requires that all “parents and legal guardians of aliens below the age of 14 must ensure that those aliens are registered.”

Registered illegal immigrants over the age of 18 must carry proof of registration with them at all times, according to the rule.

“Failure to comply may result in criminal and civil penalties, up to and including misdemeanor prosecution, the imposition of fines, and incarceration.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states that, as part of enabling the requirement, the government has established a new form—G-325R, Biometric Information (Registration)—and an online process “by which unregistered aliens may register and comply with the law.”

In its lawsuit, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights argued that the DHS rule “reverses the government’s long-standing approach to registration … in a manner that will cause confusion, fear, and significant economic disruption.

“Defendants attempt to rush through these sweeping changes without any meaningful explanation for the change in policy and without the notice, public comment, and careful consideration that Congress requires to avoid exactly these types of harms.”

The plaintiffs requested a stay of the rule.

McFadden ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish standing on an organizational level and on behalf of the organization’s members.

The coalition’s “injuries are highly speculative, sounding in prospective fears about what might happen when the rule takes effect,” he said.

The organization has also failed to demonstrate how a “mere requirement to abide by the law” constitutes a concrete injury.

The plaintiffs argued that this “compelled admission” regarding their members’ immigration status violates the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

In response, McFadden said that the coalition had failed to “demonstrate that any of their members would actually be subject to criminal prosecution based on their answers to Form G-325R.”

Meanwhile, according to the DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 32,809 arrests in the first 50 days of the Trump administration, a number that almost equaled the total arrests made in fiscal year 2024.

The DHS said in a post on social media platform X on April 9: “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now. If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights said: “The non-citizen immigrant registration process is a mass roundup and an extension of the Trump administration’s fearmongering campaign targeting immigrants who have deep roots in their communities and who are integral to our nation’s strength and vitality.

“Starting today, immigrants throughout the country will be faced with an intolerable choice: to register and self-incriminate, and risk being targeted for detention and deportation to their country of origin or who knows where else in the world; or not register, and risk being criminalized, penalized, and prosecuted.”