{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gutierrez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/50-dems-call-obama-dismantle-discriminatory-special-registration-system", "50+ Dems call on Obama to dismantle discriminatory NSEERS "special registration" system", "2016-12-01", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Luis Guti\u00e9rrez", "G000535", "gutierrez.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Note: Rep. Luis V. Guti\u00e9rrez (D-IL) and several other senior Democratic Members led an effort to gather 51 House Democrats on a letter to President Obama asking him to dismantle the NSEERS system, a system crafted by Kris Kobach and used by the Bush Administration to call in and register immigrant men from certain countries.\u00a0 \u201cEliminating the regulatory framework for this awful program will make it harder for the new President to begin similar roundups based on national origin or religion,\u201d Rep. Guti\u00e9rrez said, a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Co-Chair of the Task Force on Immigration of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.\nThe press release with the text of the letter is below.\nOVER 50 HOUSE DEMOCRATS CALL ON OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO COMPLETELY DISMANTLE \nDISCRIMINATORY NSEERS REGISTRATION SYSTEM BEFORE NEW ADMINISTRATION BEGINS\n\u00a0\nWashington, DC \u2013 In the wake of reports about the Trump Administration\u2019s plans to create a special registration program for Muslims, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Representatives Luis V. Guti\u00e9rrez (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) today led over 50 House Democrats in calling for President Barack Obama to completely dismantle the regulatory framework behind the discriminatory National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) before his administration ends.\u00a0 The Obama Administration effectively ended the program in 2011; however, the apparatus remains. House Democrats are calling for the NSEERS regulatory framework to be eliminated.\nThe letter was signed by Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Luis V. Guti\u00e9rrez (D-IL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Beto O\u2019Rourke (D-TX), Grace Meng (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Norma J. Torres (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Allen Lowenthal (D-CA), James A Himes (D-CT), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Jos\u00e9 E. Serrano (D-NY), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Michael E. Capuano (D-MA), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), David E. Price (D-NC), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), James McGovern (D-MA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Nydia M. Vel\u00e1zquez (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Michael M. Honda (D-CA), Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Mark Takano (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Linda T. S\u00e1nchez (D-CA), Tony C\u00e1rdenas (D-CA), Andr\u00e9 Carson (D-IN), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), Robert C. \u201cBobby\u201d Scott (D-VA), Michael F. Doyle (D-PA).\nFull text of the letter is available here and below:\n \n\tDear President Obama:\n\tWe urge you to rescind the regulatory framework behind the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) located at 8 CFR 264.1(f).\u00a0 While we commend your Administration for effectively ending the program in 2011, we believe that eliminating the apparatus of NSEERS is consistent with our country\u2019s fundamental values of fairness and equality.\n\tThe NSEERS program was announced in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.\u00a0 The most controversial portion of the NSEERS program involved a \u201cdomestic\u201d registration system that targeted certain males who entered the United States on nonimmigrant visas from primarily Arab, Muslim-majority, African, and South Asian countries.\u00a0 The program was fundamentally flawed in its false assumption that people of a particular religion or nationality pose a greater national security risk and should be subject to racial profiling.\u00a0 The program is reminiscent of \u2013 and indeed has been compared to \u2013 the dark time in our history when innocent people were interned based on their Japanese ancestry.\n\tWhen instituted in 2002, the program caused widespread and palpable fear in affected communities, separated families and caused much harm to people affected by it.\u00a0 Boys and men were required to register with local immigration offices, were interrogated, and subjected to serious due process violation.\u00a0 Communities saw family members and neighbors disappear in the middle of the night, held in overcrowded jails and deported without due process.\u00a0 More than 13,000 people were placed in removal proceedings, businesses closed down, and students were forced to leave school with degrees uncompleted.\n\tIn addition to the harm that NSEERS caused to communities, the program was ineffective as a counter-terrorism tool.\u00a0 A 2012 Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General report found the program to be inefficient and a waste of resources, costing American taxpayers more than $10 million annually.\u00a0The report characterized the data collected through the program as unreliable.\u00a0 No known terrorism convictions have resulted from the program.\n\tWe stand together in opposition to policies that would target people based on their religion, race, ethnicity or national origin.\u00a0 We urge the Administration to immediately rescind the NSEERS regulation as a re-affirmation of its commitment to equal protection under the law.\n\tSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gutierrez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/50-dems-call-obama-dismantle-discriminatory-special-registration-system"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6300120148807764, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}