Though Donald Trump seems to have waffled back and forth about whether he really plans to go through with his proposed Muslim immigration ban, it appears now that he is considering an even more nefarious and unconstitutional program for the oppressed minority group.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Koback, an adviser to President-Elect Trump, revealed on Wednesday that the administration is mulling the idea of implementing a national registry program for all Muslim immigrants in the nation – a revitalization of an older surveillance program implemented after 9/11. This restrictive program would require all Muslim immigrants coming into the nation to register upon entry into the nation as well as requiring them to have regular check-ins with federal officials.
No word yet about whether this unconstitutional program would be applied to current Muslim citizens or other non-Muslim immigrants. Of course, if Trump’s team get their way, anyone with a hint of melanin in their skin would be under close federal watch.
If implemented, the program, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), would allow and require that the federal government monitor the comings and goings of individuals from 25 marked countries. These countries include Afghanistan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and many more.
Though the Administration will no doubt claim that the watch program is focused terrorist-relation nationality rather than on Muslims, only one of the 25 – North Korea – are not majority Muslim.
NSEERS was put into place in 2002, on the wings of national hysteria concerning terorrism, backed by the horrific Patriot Act. The program was only dismantled in 2011, and it is already being brought back? The original NSEERS program registered 93,000 people – most of them innocent, law-abiding individuals who were tracked, interrogated, and made to feel like criminals.
Progress means moving forward, and this would be a massive step back.
You can read more about the NSEERS program at Think Progress.
