D.C. Circuit Won’t Block Trump Alien Registration Requirements
A key element of the president’s ‘self-deportation’ push remains — for now, at least
By Andrew R. Arthur on August 15, 2025
As I explained in 2018, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires all aliens who are here — lawfully and otherwise — to register their presence, but it wasn’t until Trump’s return that DHS began fully enforcing that requirement. In April, Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion filed by four organizations to block those new registration requirements from taking effect, and on August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied those organizations request for a stay of the registration requirements pending appeal. The American people have a right to know who’s here, and a key component of Trump’s “self-deportation” push is now in place — for the time being, at least.
A Brief History of Alien Registration in the United States
This story begins during the lead-up to our entry into World War II, when in response to concerns about so-called “fifth columnists” in the United States, Congress passed the “Alien Registration Act of 1940”, also known as the “Smith Act” after its primary sponsor, then-Rep. Howard W. Smith (D-Va.).
As Britannica explains, the Smith Act “made it a criminal offense to advocate the violent overthrow of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy”.
That’s true, but Title III of the Smith Act also required aliens 14 or older who were in this country for 30 days or more to be registered and fingerprinted (if they had not been registered and fingerprinted when they obtained their visas), while mandating that the parents and guardians of aliens under 14 years of age complete this process for their kids.
https://cis.org/Arthur/DC-Circuit-Wont-Block-Trump-Alien-Registration-Requirements
