Program Seen As Profiling Muslim Travelers Is Ended

The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice with the Federal Register yesterday (full text) effectively ending the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). According to a press release from CAIR, NSEERS has been perceived as a program that profiles individuals on the basis of religion and ethnicity. Under the program, non-immigrant men and boys traveling to the United States from 24 predominately Muslim Middle Eastern and Asian countries (as well as North Korea) have been required to be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed. They have also been required to leave the U.S. through designated ports. DHS says that it has implemented new automated systems over the past six years that capture information on non-immigrant travelers to the U.S. so that NSEERS is no longer provides any increase in security.