The Muslim Public Affairs Council welcomes the indefinite suspension of the National Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) by the Department of Homeland Security(DHS). MPAC joins a coalition, which includes the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,South Asian Americans Leading Together, Rights Working Group and others, in welcoming the change in DHS policy.

SEE: "Removing Designated Countries from the National SecurityEntry-Exit Registration System" (pdf)

NSEERS was a poorly constructed program implemented in 2002 to counter terrorism by targeting male visitors from Arab and Muslim-majority countries. More than 83,000 Arab and Muslim men were required to take part in a “domestic call-in” phase where they had to report to immigration offices around the country for fingerprints, photographs and lengthy questioning by officers. Criminal and civil penalties associated with NSEERS, included arrest, detention, fines or removal from the United States.

The suspension of NSEERS means that countries will be de-listed; however, the regulatory framework will stay the same. The DHS stated local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) will handle pending cases on a case-by-case basis. MPAC along with other community organizations will be engaging the CIS to discuss the retrospective impact of the policy change.

“The de-listing of the countries is a major important first step to addressing concerns with the broader program,” said MPAC Government & Policy Analyst, Alejandro Beutel. “At the same time, several questions remain about maintaining the rest of NSEERS’ regulatory framework. We join the chorus of community voices requesting to engage the DHS further on these matters.”

MPAC responded in 2002 to the NSEERS program when it was first instituted by positioning human rights monitors at INS buildings. Our monitors were available to connect with families if their relatives disappeared or were subjected to interrogation. The human rights monitor program was applauded by all civil liberties groups and by government allies who saw NSEERS as a means of intimidating immigrants from Muslim-majority counties.

NSEERS has raised serious constitutional issues and has not been effective in keeping our nation safer. Around 14,000 men were deported because of complying with the “domestic call-ins”. According to civil liberties groups, not a single terrorism conviction has emerged from the program.