By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
Asian Americans are praising a move by President Obama that would make it more difficult for President-elect Trump to set up a Muslim registry.
“We stand ready to oppose any policies that target or profile AMEMSA (Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian) communities, which the new Administration may put in place, said Elica Vafaie, Staff Attorney, National Security and Civil Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “Regardless of how such policies are packaged, their discriminatory anti-Muslim intent has been well-established by the President-elect’s campaign rhetoric, that was intended to undermine our bedrock Constitutional commitment to religious pluralism and divide us as a nation.”
President Obama has ordered the dismantling of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration Systems (NSEERS) program beginning today. The program was set up after 9/11 as a way to keep track of travelers to and from mostly Muslim countries. President Obama discontinued the program in 2011 arguing it failed to snag a single terrorist. The framework for the program, however, remained in place.
By taking it apart, President Obama is forcing Trump to begin the entire lengthy rule making process all over again.
“I am incredibly relieved that President Obama has taken this step to dismantle NSEERS and make a Muslim registry that much harder to implement,” said Rep Judy Chu (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. This is a program that was deemed so flawed that it was ultimately canceled for isolating the Muslim community while failing to make our country more secure. It should not remain on our books.”
Many Asian Americans have expressed fears a Muslim Registry is a step towards opening up incarceration camps similar to those that imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II. President-elect Trump made such a registry a cornerstone of his campaign.
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RE: President Obama’s action putting up roadblock to Muslim Registry applauded by Asian Americans:This is such a welcome action by the President. We must not let the past injustices repeat themselves. Today, we are a more egalitarian society than during WWII, and the Japanese internment. It is our responsibility to learn from our past mistakes, and fight for the rights of our fellow Americans.