New U.S. Immigration Rule Requires All Immigrants to Carry ID at All Times:

The new direction set for the DHS policies contains a significant new outline regarding identification requirements for immigrants and international student workers. All new immigrants will be required to carry some form of identification at all times. This new policy is effective April 11, 2024.

The rationale for this enforcement is based on a prior court decision which advanced a regressive rule on the Immigrant Registration System under the Trump presidency.

Children above the age of 14 must also comply with the rule: A Legal Document Holder’s Dependents must re-register and apply with biometric tuition of captured fingerprints by the age of 14.

Non-compliance with the requirements will now rest directly with the Department of Homeland Security which emphasizes compliance.

These changes add onto the already Indian immigrant scrunitization policies.

The available statistics for undocumented Indian workers differs from source to source.

DHS 2022 : 2.20 lakh

Migration Policy: 3.75 lakh

Pew Research: 7 lakh

The assumption is that these groups progressing undocumented individuals will now face increased policies without sufficient papers or registration online.

DHS Authority is Strengthened with Court Rulings

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden defended the rule in court because it was challenged by advocacy groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the United Farm Workers of America. The judge reasoned that the groups that challenged the rule did not prove how the regulation would affect their functioning in a material way.

Ruling Advocacy Group Concerns

Immigration legal rights advocates have voiced their fierce discontent of the ruling. Nicholas Espiritu, the deputy legal director at the National Immigration Law Center called the ruling “disappointing.” He also cautioned of the consequences of the rule stating it makes noncitizens choose between surrendering themselves for deportation or facing severe consequences for refraining from compliance.