As the Obama administration comes to an end, the program targeting Arab and Muslim men in the United States is also being put an end
The leadership of outgoing American President Barack Obama has declared on Thursday that it was putting an end to a dormant program that was once used to track mostly the Arab and Muslim men.
The Department of Homeland Security, through its spokesman Neema Hakim, said that it is removing outdated regulations in connection to the National Security Entry-Exit Registration Systems (NSEERS) program, with an immediate effective date.
The said program was suspended in 2011 but the Obama administration has decided that it would stop the implementation of such because the “intervening years have shown that NSEERS is not just obsolete but also, its use would divert limited personnel and resources from more effective measures”.
Meanwhile, the newly-elected President Donald Trump has made some suggestions instituting a program that would track Muslim immigrants to the U.S.
Kellyanne Conway, the business mogul’s adviser, said that the president-elect would not pursue a ban on immigration among Muslims to the U.S., only because of religion.
Conway said Trump is just being careful about people from countries where they have got a propensity of training and exporting terrorists.
On Wednesday, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called on Obama to dismantle the NSEERS program, saying in a letter to the American president that the program, which was created after the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks, did not cut down terrorist activity but instead, “undermined trust” in law enforcement and instilled fear among some communities.
Schneiderman said in a separate statement that they cannot risk giving President-elect Trump the tools to create an unconstitutional religious registry.
The New York State Attorney General praised the decision Obama made on Thursday.
According to him, the move is a win for civil rights and for smart, effective law enforcement and also for the strong coalition of advocacy organizations and other who fought to dismantle the discriminatory tool.
Schneiderman’s office will continue to do everything it can to protect and uphold the rights of the people of New York, and ensure equal justice under the law for all, regardless of religion or national origin.
The end of the program was also hailed by the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, believing the the program was a failed tool to counter terrorism, was highly discriminatory, and only led to widespread fear and needless dislocation of families across their country.
NSEERS, also called “Special Registration”, was a program to register and monitor non-citizen visa holders, enacted by former President George Bush.