INS Special Registration: hah! Have at thee, Ashcroft!

Great Debates
1

I knew something like this was going to happen! Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks INS’ Special Registration program has been moronically implemented and is, shall we say for the sake of politeness, a less than optimal use of INS funds and Federal intelligence resources:

“Senate Votes to Halt INS Registration Program”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40377-2003Jan24.html

“The massive appropriations bill approved by the Senate late Thursday includes a little-noticed amendment that would cut off funding for a Justice Department program that requires male immigrants from two dozen predominantly Muslim countries to register and be fingerprinted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The main purpose of the amendment was to restore funding for a congressionally mandated program that by 2005 is designed to provide information on the identity of all visitors to the United States and track when they enter and leave the country.
But the amendment also included language that bans the use of any of the money for the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), a program targeted at male temporary visitors from countries the government considers to be terrorist harbors.

[snip]

The Senate amendment also would require Attorney General John D. Ashcroft to provide Congress with documents and other information on the creation and operation of NSEERS, and provide an assessment of the program’s effectiveness. Corallo said the Justice Department “will work with Congress and answer all of their questions and concerns.”

So what do my fellow Dopers think? Will Ted Kennedy and the civil libertarians get their wish? Should they? Is there a better way to accomplish the same goal, i.e. improve U.S. security without compromising civil liberties?

2

I don’t know whether this is a good program or not. Politically, I think Ted Kennedy and the Civil Libertarians (the well known rock band?) will not get their wish. The man in the street will approve of this program. Now that it’s a public issue, I predict it will be returned to the bill.

3

**december, ** I’m in shock! Quick, the smelling salts! A civil liberties issue, with an immigration component, about which you have no opinion? Can this be true?