Two separate but deeply connected federal programs are drawing fire for what civil liberties advocates are calling a historic expansion of surveillance and state control: one registry to track undocumented immigrants under Trump’s revived immigration crackdown, and another targeting autistic Americans under the direction of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Trump regime’s immigrant registry program, announced in February, mandates that all undocumented immigrants aged 14 and older register with the federal government, submit to biometric data collection, and carry proof of registration at all times. Failure to comply could result in fines or imprisonment. Immigration officials have stated that the registry will be used to facilitate mass deportations and to preemptively block future asylum claims.

Now, a second registry has emerged, this time under the leadership of RFK Jr., who oversees the Department of Health and Human Services. Marketed as a public health initiative, the national autism registry will collect vast amounts of personal data: pharmacy records, lab tests, smartwatch data, and even genetic information from veterans and Native populations. While officials claim it’s for medical research, autism advocates have condemned the language used to describe autistic people in press briefings as dehumanizing and stigmatizing.

Kennedy, who has previously promoted discredited vaccine theories, has launched the registry as part of what he describes as a national health strategy to better understand autism. While framed as research-driven, the program’s scope and scale have raised deep concern among disability advocates, who fear it will further stigmatize autistic individuals and enable state profiling under the guise of health surveillance.

Advocates warn that the parallel tracking systems for undocumented immigrants and autistic Americans signal a broader trend toward digital control and population profiling. Civil rights groups have compared the programs to past state overreaches that targeted marginalized communities under the guise of security or health policy.

The data-sharing protocols of both programs are murky. Internal documents reveal that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk-affiliated technocrats, is overseeing the infrastructure behind both systems. This includes combining datasets from Social Security, the IRS, and DHS to fuel AI-driven surveillance programs.

Human rights groups warn that these registries, once built, will be impossible to dismantle, and could easily be repurposed to target political dissidents, protestors, and other marginalized groups.

The Crustian Daily will continue to investigate the scope, legality, and ethical ramifications of the expanding federal registry regime.