HR-2129-119
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsored by Pramila Jayapal (D-WA)
What it does
This bill would repeal the Alien Registration Act of 1940, which is currently codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Specifically, it would eliminate the requirement that non-citizens aged 14 and older register with the federal government, be fingerprinted, and carry proof of registration at all times. It would also remove the criminal penalties — including fines and imprisonment — for failing to comply with those requirements, and would eliminate registration violations as a deportable offense.
Who benefits
Unauthorized immigrants currently subject to registration requirements and criminal penalties for non-compliance. Lawful permanent residents and other non-citizens who must currently carry registration documents. Civil liberties organizations that have raised due process concerns about registration enforcement. Immigrant advocacy groups. Attorneys who argue the registration requirement creates legal exposure for clients who may be unaware of the law. Communities with large immigrant populations where enforcement actions may have broader economic and social effects.
Who is hurt
Federal immigration enforcement agencies (DHS, ICE) that use registration records as a tool to track and locate non-citizens. Law enforcement agencies that rely on registration status as a basis for immigration-related stops or detentions. Employers and government agencies that use registration records to verify immigration status. Proponents of stricter immigration enforcement who argue the registration system provides an accountability mechanism. State and local governments that may rely on federal registration data for planning and public safety purposes.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the Alien Registration Act was enacted in 1940 during a period of wartime xenophobia and has historically been used to target specific national-origin groups rather than to serve a neutral public safety function. They contend that current DHS enforcement has revived use of the law to criminalize non-citizens — including those with pending immigration cases — who were never previously notified of the registration requirement, raising serious due process concerns under the Fifth Amendment. They further argue that the deportability provision creates a trap for non-citizens who cannot comply with a requirement they did not know existed.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that knowing who is present in the country is a basic and legitimate function of sovereign immigration control, and that repealing the registration requirement would eliminate one of the few legal tools available to track non-citizens who have entered or remained unlawfully. They contend that the law has been on the books for over 80 years and that its recent enforcement reflects a lawful exercise of executive authority upheld under broad congressional delegation of immigration power, as affirmed in Trump v. Hawaii (2018). They further argue that removing criminal penalties and deportability for registration violations would reduce accountability and make it harder to enforce existing immigration law.
Constitutional context
The Naturalization Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 4) and the Necessary and Proper Clause give Congress broad authority to regulate the presence and registration of non-citizens. However, the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause — as applied in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) — establishes that non-citizens inside the United States retain constitutional protections, and critics argue that criminalizing failure to comply with a registration requirement that was not meaningfully communicated raises due process concerns.
Checks and balances
Congress would reduce executive branch authority by eliminating a statutory tool DHS and DOJ currently use to register, track, and remove non-citizens; no new oversight mechanism is created in its place.
Historical precedent
The Alien Registration Act of 1940 (the Smith Act) was previously used during World War II and the Cold War era to register and track non-citizens, and its registration provisions have remained largely dormant for decades before recent enforcement actions by DHS in 2025.