A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration can move forward with its plan to require undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government, reports Sareen Habeshian of Axios.
The rule, which goes into effect today, places undocumented immigrants ages 14 and older at risk of fines and imprisonment if they do not register and provide fingerprints.
Meanwhile, in a bid to pressure immigrants to ‘self-deport,’ the administration has begun canceling the Social Security numbers of many who lawfully entered the U.S. under programs that were recently revoked, reports a team at The New York Times.
The goal, the Times reports, is to cut individuals off from access to basic financial services like using bank accounts or credit cards.
Earlier this week the administration added more than 6,300 migrants' names to the Social Security Administration’s "death master file," which –as the name indicates– is typically reserved for those who have died. The initial list comprises people the administration says are convicted criminals or "suspected terrorists," but the effort may expand, the Times notes.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to try to return to the U.S. a man wrongfully deported to a high security prison in El Salvador, reports Roll Call’s Michael Macagnone.
The unanimous ruling held that the administration must facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly removed.
Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Marcela Aguirre, Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker and Broc Murphy. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
MONITORED – The federal government announced that it will screen immigrants’ social media accounts for antisemitic content as grounds for denying visas and green cards, reports a team at The Washington Post. The nonpartisan Jewish Council for Public Affairs responded to the new policy in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, reports Rebecca Beitsch of The Hill."[T]his new policy raises significant questions as to how it will be applied," says the letter. "Particularly as many in the Jewish community have already expressed deep concerns about how our legitimate fears of antisemitism are being used as the pretext to advance policies that undermine rights such as due process."
SCHOOLS POLICY— The Tennessee bill that requires schools to verify the immigration status of incoming students and charge tuition to those who can't provide proof of legal status has passed the state Senate, reports Melissa Brown of The Tennessean. Sen. Page Walley (R) joined six other Republicans in voting against the measure, saying, "Children should not be part of these kind of policy debates." Separately, in Los Angeles, California, immigration officials were denied permission to enter two elementary schools, reports Howard Blume and Melissa Gomez of the Los Angeles Times.
WORKER CONCERNS — Business leaders are asking the White House for more work visas such as H-2B, as they fear mass deportation could result in a labor shortage for some industries, reports Billal Rahman of Newsweek. Additionally, those in the agricultural industry in Texas worry that the fear in immigrant communities will affect the labor force, reports Abraham Nudelstejer of The Dallas Morning News.
EXPELLED — Thousands of Afghan refugees could be forcibly expelled from Pakistan where they are waiting for resettlement in third locations, including the U.S., if they are not relocated by the end of April, reports Munir Ahmed of The Washington Post. Pakistan’s Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry indicated that those who received UN refugee status would be allowed to stay through June. Additionally, a federal judge in Seattle is pressing the White House for a timeline on when the refugee program will be back, reports Amy Radil of KUOW.
