Issued December 22, 2016
WASHINGTON – Following the news that the Obama Administration has ended the remaining vestiges of the infamous and ineffective National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), SEIU International Vice President Rocio Sáenz issued the following statement:
"SEIU and its 2 million members strongly support the Obama administration’s decision to end the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). The NSEERS program -- implemented in the wake of the 9/11 attacks -- required more than 83,000 boys and men from 24 predominantly Muslim countries, plus North Korea, to register with the federal government. These people were not accused or suspected of any wrongdoing, yet were ordered to stand in humiliating lines to be registered, photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed. The program has been discontinued for years, but the regulation on which it was based has remained until now.
“America’s government should not engage in racial, ethnic or religious profiling because it is contrary to our national values. It is wrong to stigmatize or punish a group out of fear or ignorance -- and it makes us less safe because it distracts and divides us. Profiling is a poor substitute for good police work."