WASHINGTON, 4 December 2003 — Federal immigration officials said Monday they are suspending a program that required young males from countries with suspected links to terrorism to register annually while in the United States.
Muslims criticized the requirement for targeting thousands of innocent men and boys from Middle Eastern countries.
The program ended Tuesday for more than 83,000 non-immigrants such as temporary workers, students and visitors who complied with the rule by registering at local immigration offices.
Even so, people from 25 mostly Middle Eastern countries covered by the program will still have to register again each time they enter or leave the country, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Asa Hutchinson, the department’s undersecretary for border and transportation security, denied the rule was suspended because of legal challenges or criticism.
He said the decision would allow immigration officials to focus on those who may not be complying with their visa conditions, not on “broad categories” of men from specific countries.
Hutchinson said a new registration program called US-VISIT, scheduled to start Jan. 5, will make the current system unnecessary by rapidly fingerprinting and photographing millions of visitors.
The old rule is part of the National Security Entry Exit Registration System, or NSEERS, which is being phased out. Hutchinson said it could be used again if a terrorist attack takes place that is linked to a specific country.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent advocacy group for Muslims in the United States, applauded the announcement.
“We appreciate the government’s decision to eliminate the special registration program, which has done little to promote security and has alienated thousands of law-abiding visitors to our nation,” a statement from the Dallas, Texas-based organization said.
Council board member Azhar Azeez said the rule’s withdrawal could give impetus for ending other policies introduced after the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“There’s a very huge opposition across the country of the Patriot Act, too, so this whole thing is picking up speed, and that’s a good thing, because in my personal opinion, the Patriot Act is the most unpatriotic act this country has ever written,” Azeez told the Associated Press.
The Patriot Act grants the federal government broad powers of surveillance, making it easier to employ wiretaps and monitor e-mail.
“There’s more that would have to be done to right this wrong, but it is one step toward making the program less discriminatory in the future,” Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the AP.
