DHS Sec Kristi Noem announces registry for undocumented immigrants

"The Alien Registration Act says that within 30 days of being in this country illegally, someone must register with the federal government, they will be fingerprinted," Noem said.

The original Act of 1940 also required registrants to confirm that they were not planning to overthrow the government. This authority was used after 9/11 by President George W. Bush and aided that administration in the deportation of thousands of people who were here illegally.

"They must announce that they are here," she went on to say, "and if they do so, they can avoid criminal charges and fines and we will help them relocate right back to their home country."

Noem believes that this registration will "provide them an opportunity to come back someday, and to be a part of the American dream."

While the benefit to registering is a free trip right back to where they came from, failure to comply will result in criminal penalties. "If they don’t register, they are breaking the federal law, which has always been in place. We're just going to start enforcing it to make sure that these aliens go back home, and when they want to be an American they can come and visit us again," Noem said.

She announced the website, as well, where people could register. That site read that, "with limited exceptions, all aliens 14 years of age or older who were not fingerprinted or registered when applying for a US visa and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, must apply for registration and fingerprinting. Similarly, parents and guardians must ensure that their children below the age of 14 are registered. Within 30 days of reaching his or her 14th birthday, the previously registered alien child must apply for re-registration and to be fingerprinted.

"Once an alien has registered and appeared for fingerprinting (unless waived), DHS will issue evidence of registration, which aliens over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times."

The site also reads that "No alien will have an excuse for failure to comply with this law. Registration is not an immigration status, and registration documentation does not establish employment authorization or any other right or benefit under the INA or any other U.S. law."