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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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The Trump administration announced Tuesday that 47,000 illegal immigrants had notified the government of their presence, after new regulations were introduced.
The figure for the 2 1/2 weeks since the Alien Registration Requirement (ARR) kicked in was part of a rundown of actions taken by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) since President Donald Trump's return to office.
"That number really doesn't put a dent in the population they are trying to serve, which at a 30-thousand-foot level says to me that it's ineffective," Jeff Joseph, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told Newsweek, adding that the policy was confusing for immigrants, likely putting many off.
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Why It Matters
The requirement puts those in the U.S. without legal status in a potentially no-win situation. Failure to register could lead to criminal prosecution, but informing the government where they are living and how long they have been in the U.S. without documentation could also lead to deportation or other actions, also.
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What To Know
While many of the roughly 11 million immigrants without legal status have registered with the government in some way previously, through applications for documentation or holding a visa, the American Immigration Lawyers Association has said the ARR would likely impact "millions" who have not filed an official application in the past.
USCIS said in its Tuesday update that it was "actively promoting public awareness" of the need for illegal immigrants to register within 30 days of the requirement's launching, which would be May 11. The agency has also created a tool for immigrants to use in determining if they need to fill out a form.
During last year's presidential election campaign, Trump claimed that former President Joe Biden had allowed millions of illegal immigrants to enter the country and that many were not accounted for. While a proportion of undocumented immigrants did arrive over the past four years, a much larger share has been in the country for upward of a decade.
USCIS did have the details of around half a million immigrants who arrived under humanitarian parole during the previous administration, namely from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It said 531,000 people had been notified that their status had been terminated and urged to self-deport.
Self-deportation is being monitored by another Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with the CBP Home app including a feature for immigrants to notify the government of intention to depart and subsequent arrival in their home country. While DHS said "thousands" had used the feature, exact numbers have yet to be rendered.
Among the other actions taken as part of a strengthening of immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, USCIS said it had assisted in the arrest of 369 immigrants at its offices across the country, something Joseph told Newsweek was unusual.
Agents have also rooted out thousands of cases of potential immigration and benefits fraud, USCIS said.
Social media vetting has also been ramped up under the Trump administration, with notable cases of visas being revoked due to potential antisemitic or pro-Hamas remarks and actions. USCIS said it had screened 3,568 immigrants' social media activity since January 20.
What People Are Saying
Joseph, in his interview with Newsweek: "The agency that grants benefits is not supposed to be the agency that entraps you into enforcement at the same time. So, to me it's a real travesty to send people in to legitimate interviews for citizenship, only to arrest them. It's certainly a bait-and-switch we haven't seen before."
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, in a statement shared with Newsweek: "President Trump promised to deport 'millions and millions' of immigrants. Through 100 days, he's falling short of that goal, but that has only emboldened his attacks on the judiciary, due process, and the rights of both noncitizens and citizens. The lawless chaos that has brought America to the brink of a constitutional crisis has no economic or social upside. It will weaken the country, impoverish Americans, and make them less safe."
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser, in a press release: "In the first 100 days, USCIS put a stop to disastrous Biden-era 'humanitarian' policies that invited fraud and allowed criminal aliens to legally live and work in our communities; facilitated arrests of criminals attempting to gain immigration benefits; and for the first time in decades is ensuring every alien in the U.S. is registered as required by law."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in a press release: "President Trump said from the start: criminal illegals have no place in our homeland. He is keeping his promise."
What's Next
Republicans in Congress are pushing for billions in extra funding for immigration enforcement, as part of budget reconciliation talks this week. The cash would be earmarked to heighten border security and expand detention, while USCIS continues to be funded solely by application fees.
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