The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it will require legal residents with green cards without expiration dates to get these cards replaced.  The Associate Press reports that this category of green card will affect 750,000 cardholders.  

The proposal, published in the Federal Register, would require people who were issued green cards between 1977 and 1989 to pass a fingerprint and background check and pay a $370 processing fee, or face criminal penalties.  Under the proposal, legal resident would have 120 days to replace their cards.  Those who fail to comply could face up to 30 days in prison. "We’re doing this for security reasons," said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokeswoman in Texas . "We need to make sure that everyone out there is walking around with a secured card.  Our world changed after 9/11."  

Some affected immigrants and immigrant right groups are wary of the proposal.  According to the Houston Chronicle, a 1996 immigration law expanded the list of crimes for which immigrants, even as legal residents, could be deported.  "This is a way of asking people to come report themselves," said Crystal Williams, associate director for programs at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.  

Affected immigrants are wary of the proposal and suspect the change will cause pain in the immigrant community.  Jorge Ruiz, a 54-year-old Houston butcher, has an older ‘green card’ that the USCIS wished to replace. Ruiz said of the proposal:  "Do you think someone who earns $7 an hour is going to be able to afford a new credential, and still pay all the bills?  And especially if only one in the household is working?"  

The difficulty associate with a green card renewal may have immigrants turning to another alternative: citizenship application.  "The best move is to become a U.S. citizen," said Nelson Reyes, executive director of the Central American Resource Center. "Because it costs $675 to become a U.S. citizen, and to renew the card is nearly $400.  These costs are similar, but the benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen greater."  Jorge Ruiz is considering the same: Instead of renewing the card, Ruiz is now considering spending a little bit more and becoming a U.S. citizen.  "I’m thinking about that because I’m getting older and because of the benefits American citizens have."  

The proposal is not yet law, and the USCIS plans to accept comments on the proposal through Sept. 21.