Second Circuit Upholds "Special" Registration

AP reports that "A post-9/11 rule that required visitors from two dozen Arab and Muslim countries and North Korea to register with immigration authorities was constitutional, an appeals court said Wednesday. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it did not quibble with the fact that the program selected countries that were predominantly Muslim."

The Second Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Winter, and joined by Judges Walker and (former Yale Law Dean) Guido Calabresi, emphasized that "The Sept. 11 attacks were facilitated by violations of immigration laws by aliens from predominantly Muslim nations. The program was clearly tailored to those facts."

The program under review was the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. Males from 24 Arab and predominantly Muslim countries and North Korea on certain nonimmigrant visas had to register, submit fingerprints, and prove legal presence in the country. Some critics claimed that the program was racial, ethnic, and religious profiling.

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