The Florida Immigrant Coalition, along with several other immigrant advocates nationwide, warns that the Trump administration’s national registry for undocumented immigrants will lead to racial profiling.
“We know historically that racial profiling has nothing but negative impacts on communities,” said Tessa Petit, executive director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition during a virtual news conference on Tuesday.
“People are already afraid to report crimes, go to work and send their children to school,” she said. “How much more isolated should they become?”
A federal judge last week allowed the Trump administration to move forward with a requirement that everyone in the U.S. illegally must register with the federal government and carry documentation.
Judge Trevor Neil McFadden — a Trump appointee — sided with the administration, which had argued that officials were simply enforcing a requirement that already existed for everyone who is in the country but isn’t an American citizen.
READ MORE: Judge allows requirement that everyone in the US illegally must register to move forward
McFadden's ruling didn't go into the substance of those arguments but rested largely on the technical issue of whether the groups pushing to stop the requirement had standing to pursue their claims. He ruled they didn't. The requirement went into effect last Friday, April 11.
Immediately after the judge’s ruling, Department of Homeland Security officials emphasized in a news release that the deadline to register for those who've already been in the country for 30 days or more was Friday and that going forward, the registration requirement would be enforced to the fullest.
“President Trump and I have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream,” Secretary Kristi Noem said in the statement. “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws — we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans.”
