In the latest, last-ditch efforts to nail the floorboards down and child-proof the Oval Office, President Barack Obama announced that he would end a program used for the registry of visitors from countries with active terrorist groups, The Boston Globe reports.
Although it truly is hard to predict what President-elect Donald Trump will actually do in the future, given his erratic and inconsistent stances on issues like Muslim ban and registry, many Democrats and Republicans fear that he will make good on his word to keep closer tabs on Muslim-Americans.
Many have even noted that the idea of “keeping closer tabs” on specific types of Americans is discriminatory in nature, and conjures up images of the 1940s, when Jews were required to do the same.
The move by the White House is largely symbolic, as the program has not been active or used since 2011, but it is sure to assuage, at least partially, the unprecedented fear that Democrats have for the impending president.
These fears range from the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the promise to ban all Muslims from the country, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, all based on campaign proposals of the President-elect.
The program, NSEERS, or National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, comes from the 9/11 era of the United States, a time of heightened national security. However, it is important to note, as does a joint letter by over 50 Democrats from the House of Representatives, that:
“…No known terrorism convictions have resulted from the program.”
If annihilating terror truly is the goal of the nation, NSEERS appears to have outlived its usefulness, as evidenced by its meager fruits.
President Obama also made other big decisions lately, such as banning drilling in parts of the Atlantic and the Arctic. Obama noted that this was a decision that could not be overturned by a successor.
These decisions likely come from the prospect of a president-elect whose positions change radically from day to day. With them, President Obama may be able to maintain, in small and large ways, his legacy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgAOv7uCioc
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