Aslı Ü. Bâli is professor of law at the UCLA School of Law and director of the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies. In this op-ed for Washington Post, he writes that “President Trump is poised to sign an executive order to begin ‘extreme vetting’ of immigrants and visitors to the United States. Though falling short of his infamous campaign promise of ‘a total and complete shutdown on Muslims entering the United States,’ reports suggest that this shutdown will include a ban on visas to the United States from several Muslim-majority countries and language that appears to uniquely target Muslim.”
In the wake of this, Mr. Bâli walks you through the history of the Bush-era registration program known as NSEERS (the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System) which the professor says “was not just a registry — it actually multiplied the grounds for deporting men based on national origin.” Last month, the Obama administration announced that it would dismantle the program on the grounds that “NSEERS is not only obsolete, but that its use would divert limited personnel and resources from more effective measures.”
Mr. Bâli continues to make the point that while “NSEERS was widely deemed counterproductive in preventing terrorism, it was never found unconstitutional…. Under current constitutional jurisprudence, the federal government’s authority over immigration allows for national origin-based discrimination at our borders. However, Trump’s proposals might fare differently. Some of the ‘extreme vetting questions’ listed in a draft proposal by a Trump advisor photographed in November were clearly related to religious belief, with questions about Sharia, jihad and gender equality. The vetting topics listed in the draft Executive Order that was leaked yesterday include a version of these questions without direct reference to Islam. For instance, in the place of jihad the order references ‘violent religious edicts.’ Whereas the Bush administration disavowed religious profiling in its post-9/11 policies, Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to specifically target the Muslim community during the campaign and since the election.”
