The Obama administration has moved to formally end the national registry program for immigrants from majority-Muslim countries, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERS. Obama’s move comes only one day after Donald Trump appeared to reiterate his pledge to reinstate this very registry, when answering a question from a reporter outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Wednesday. The reporter was asking Trump about Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, which left 12 people dead. In response, Trump said, “You’ve known my plans all along, and it’s — they’ve proven to be right, 100 percent correct.” We speak to Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security and Human Rights Program.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The Obama administration has moved to formally end the national registry program for immigrants from majority-Muslim countries, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERS. Obama’s move comes only one day after Donald Trump appeared to reiterate his pledge to reinstate this very registry, when answering a question from a reporter outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Wednesday. The reporter was asking Trump about Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, which left 12 people dead. In response, Trump said, quote, “You’ve known my plans all along, and it’s — they’ve proven to be right, 100 percent correct,” unquote. Trump first spoke about creating a registry while campaigning for president.
REPORTER: Should there be a database system that tracks the Muslims here in this country?
DONALD TRUMP: There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. I mean, we should have a lot of systems. And today you can do it. But right now, we have to have a border. We have to have strength. We have to have a wall. And we cannot let what’s happening to this country happen any longer.
REPORTER: But that’s something…