The Department of Homeland Security filed a notice that it is deleting the published rules for the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. | Getty Obama pulls regs that could have fueled 'Muslim registry' under Trump

The Obama administration is removing dormant government regulations that some immigrant rights and civil liberties advocates feared could be used by President-elect Donald Trump to establish registration requirements for immigrant Muslims living in the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security filed an official notice Thursday that it is deleting the published rules for the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, a program the Bush administration used in 2002 and 2003 to require male foreigners over 16 from 25 largely Muslim-majority countries to register with U.S. immigration authorities.


During the presidential campaign, Trump proposed a temporary ban on immigration of Muslims to the U.S. After an outcry over that proposal, including from some of his supporters, he said the moratorium would only apply to countries whose nationals have been involved in terrorism against the U.S. or its allies.

Since the most controversial part of the Bush administration's registration effort was abandoned in December 2003, the Obama team's move to dismantle the regulations is largely symbolic. Nevertheless, more than 200 civil rights, religious and other organizations urged the administration to delete the rules out of concern that they would serve as a framework for Trump to renew or expand the registration effort.

The Homeland Security notice released Thursday and scheduled for formal publication on Friday called the NSEERS program "obsolete and inefficient."

"Although DHS retained the regulations that provide the NSEERS framework, subsequent experience has confirmed that NSEERS is obsolete, that deploying it would be inefficient and divert personnel and resources from alternative effective measures, and that the regulation authorizing NSEERS is unnecessary," Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says in the notice.

"DHS now engages in security and law enforcement efforts that were not possible when NSEERS was established in 2002, and the Department continues to make significant progress in its abilities to identify, screen, and vet all travelers arriving to the United States; to collect and analyze biometric and biographic data; to target high-risk travelers for additional examination; and to track nonimmigrants’ entry, stay, and exit from the country."

DHS also said that aspects of the NSEERS program, including fingerprinting and photographing at points of entry, are now carried out broadly for foreigners visiting the U.S. And the agency noted that since February of this year foreigners seeking to enter the U.S. without a visa have been asked about dual nationality in, or travel to, high-risk countries like Iran, Syria and Sudan.

"The regulations behind special registration and the manual collection of information from nonimmigrants date back more than two decades. They have long been replaced by automated systems that are far better equipped to face the evolving landscape of international terrorism," DHS spokesman Neema Hakim said.

Since his victory in the presidential race last month, Trump has not laid out a detailed plan for implementing his campaign promises to crack down on immigration from countries that are fonts of terrorism.

However, when immigration hardliner and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach met with Trump last month, Kobach was carrying a memo that proposed reinstating the NSEERS program as well as questioning Muslim immigrants about their support for Islamic law, known as Sharia. Kobach has been mentioned as a candidate for an administration job, although no announcement has been made.

Asked by reporters Wednesday about his reaction to terrorist attacks in Germany and Turkey earlier in the week and whether he plans to move forward with his calls for a Muslim registry, Trump said he was not wavering.

"You know my plans. All along, I’ve been proven to be right. 100 percent correct. What’s happening is disgraceful," the president-elect said between meetings at his West Palm Beach, Fla. resort, Mar-a-Lago. “It’s an attack on humanity. That’s what it is. An attack on humanity and it’s got to be stopped.”

Trump transition officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Obama administration's action.

Civil rights groups hailed the move and warned that Trump will face a battle if he tries to restore or expand the Bush-era registration program, which critics faulted for having no discernible impact on terrorism but causing many immigrants to be arrested, detained and even deported over immigration violations they were generally unaware of before reporting for registration.

"This is the right decision by Secretary Johnson. We commend him, and the Obama administration, for letting it be known that such registry programs are futile and have no place in our country," said Abed Ayoub of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "However the community cannot be at ease; the next administration has indicated that they will consider implementing similar programs. We will work twice as hard to protect our community and ensure such programs do not come to fruition.”