As we deal with rapid changes coming from the new administration, the implementation of one old rule, the “Registration” requirement for noncitizens, has caused a great deal of confusion (and will likely cause a great deal of litigation before the dust settles). In essence, the rule requires anyone who has not previously been “registered” pursuant to a visa application or similar application, or for someone who has turned 14 in the United States, to file a new form with USCIS providing several pieces of information and evidence.
The rule is in its comment period now, so changes in how it is implemented are likely to occur, but this is one move by the new Trump administration that has historical roots I think are interesting as we think about why the rule was originally created and how the rule was originally used as compared to why the rule is being created now and how the rule is expected to be used now.
In 1940, as WWII was raging in Europe and there were fears regarding when the war would reach the United States, Congress then passed the “Alien Registration Act.” This law required that noncitizens provide certain information to the U.S. government:
- Date and place of entry into the United States;
- Current and intended future activities;
- Expected duration of stay in the United States;
- Any criminal history; and
- Other details as determined necessary by the immigration authorities.
The resulting form, known as the AR-2, was put together then to collect this information, as well as some additional information that seemed necessary or helpful for national security during the war. Noncitizens were required to provide their names, address, their occupation, information on past military service, organizational memberships from the previous five years, and criminal history. These forms are, in some ways, interesting look-backs into that period of U.S. history and you can request to review some of these forms on the USCIS website.
After the war, the Alien Registration Act was included in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is what our current immigration system is based on, and the requirements remained essentially identical. Indeed the statutory requirements found at 8 U.S.C. § 1304(a) are almost word-for-word what the Alien Registration Act required. The enforcement of the provision, however, has not really been seen in a meaningful way since that time.
Fast forward to 2025, and we have a Presidential Administration that is, I think it is fair to say, relatively hostile to immigration. They’ve now proposed to bring back this requirement in full force, and have created a new form, the G-325R, that requests a large amount of information for individuals in the United States as “registration,” and imposes significant penalties on those who do not comply. War does not appear to be at our doorstep as it was when this requirement was enacted and enforced, but some of these same requirements in providing information that appeared to serve as war-time protections are being mandated.
There are constitutional concerns, administrative law concerns, and simply practical concerns that accompany this new implementation of the registration requirement, and I’ll likely be writing about the challenges that this rule faces in the future, but in the meantime, seeing where some of these requirements come from and looking at the laws on the books from a historical perspective gives a bit more depth and meaning to what is happening now.
For those of you impacted by this new registration requirement, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
