Registration vs. Registry, a family story

Since 1940, federal law has stated that foreign nationals--with or without authorization to be here--14 years of age and older, present in the US 30 days or more, should register with the federal government. That said, as Nancy Morawetz wrote in 2014, "no such [registration] system exists today, nor has one ever existed in American history."

Enter Trump. As of April 11, 2025, comprehensive registration is now required by Interim Federal Rule. Though whether particular migrants should register or not is the subject of debate. And ongoing litigation.

When you talk about registration in your class, feel free to use the images below. I just discovered (last week!) this 3x5 inch card when organizing the last of my grandfather's documents. It's my great-grandfather's registration card!

As you can see, the card states that it is for compliance with the 1929 Registry Act. The 1929 law was about establishing Registry Files for individuals who did not have a record of their pre-1924 admission to the United States. (Remember, setting aside the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, it was the 1924 Immigration Act that first established numerical restrictions on immigration and laid the foundation for federal immigration law.) The purpose of the 1929 Act was to help those folks registering to achieve naturalization, which is exactly what my great-grandfather ultimately did. This is the first instance of "registry" in the sense that continues in INA § 249, 8 U.S.C. § 1259. 

It is, therefore, different from the 1940 Alien Registration Act, codified at INA § 262, 8 USC § 1302, the purpose of which is to catalogue noncitizens present in the U.S. with no connection to or expectation of naturalization. And it is this latter legislation that is currently newsworthy.

That said, feel free to use these visuals in your classroom for either context. 

I'm hunting for a good picture frame so I can place it next to my great-grandfather's framed naturalization certificate. So grateful to my pop-pop for holding onto these fabulous documents!

-KitJ