End to NSEERS Country Listings
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will depopulate the country listings from its National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). NSEERS required all temporary immigrants from 25 predominantly-Muslim countries to special registration requirements where they had to register their presence, fingerprints, and photographs with the immigration service upon entry. The special registration requirements targeting individuals from predominately-Muslim countries were implemented largely in response to the events of 9/11, but the program has been criticized for being poorly administered and fueling racial profiling. While depopulating the country listings from NSEERS is viewed as a positive step towards ending special registration, civil rights groups and groups such as American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) continue to call for the termination of the program as a whole.
