Muslim registry: We can't let this happen again. (video)

The last time the U.S. tried to implement a registry targeting Muslims, Kamal was almost deported.

Dear MoveOn member,

The last time the U.S. tried to implement a registry targeting Muslims, Kamal Essaheb, who is currently the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center, was almost deported. Now, after a vicious Islamophobic campaign in which Donald Trump said he'd "absolutely" require Muslims in America to register in a database, one of his top advisors on homeland security, Kris Kobach, may be trying to implement this registry once again.^1,2

Click here to watch and share Kamal's story on Facebook now. (Or scroll down for the Youtube link.) 

As it stands right now, if Donald Trump decides to start a registry program targeting Muslims, he doesn't have to start from scratch. The infrastructure from a Bush-era program called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) still exists and can be reactivated almost immediately. But President Obama has the ability to act now and dismantle NSEERS once and for all, which would force Trump to move slowly with his own schemes while facing public resistance.³

But President Obama's time to act is running out. That's why we can't wait.

On Monday, MoveOn members of all backgrounds are hitting the streets with Muslim leaders and allies in Washington, D.C., to call on President Obama to prevent Trump's Muslim registry and shut down NSEERS. And there are well over 120,000 signatures on our petition calling for the president to act.

Can you watch and share Kamal's story so more people know why we can't let a Muslim registry happen?

When NSEERS was implemented the last time, 83,000 immigrant men from Muslim-majority countries were registered and 13,000 of them were put into deportation proceedings. Out of all the registrations and deportations, no one was ever connected to any violent activity.⁴

Kamal's story is about just one of the 83,000 men who were impacted, whose lives and communities were changed. There are tens of thousands more we may never be able to hear from directly.

Let's heed Kamal's warning: We can't let this happen again.

Click here to watch and share Kamal's story.

Thanks for all you do.

—Iram, Scott, Hannah, Mark, and the rest of the team

P.S. Not on Facebook? Click here to watch the video on Youtube instead.

P.P.S. If you haven't yet signed the petition to President Obama, just add your name here.

Sources:

1. "Donald Trump Says He'd 'Absolutely' Require Muslims to Register," The New York Times, November 20, 2015 
http://act.moveon.org/go/6705?t=8&akid=174573.10220574.lFSQQT

2. "Kris Kobach Shows His Papers, Reveals Potential Homeland Security Agenda Under Trump," U.S. News & World Report, November 21, 2016  
http://act.moveon.org/go/7104?t=10&akid=174573.10220574.lFSQQT

3. "Donald Trump’s proposed 'Muslim registry,' explained," Vox, November 16, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6850?t=12&akid=174573.10220574.lFSQQT

4. "The Bush-era Muslim registry failed. Yet the US could be trying it again," CNN, November 18, 2016 
http://act.moveon.org/go/6849?t=14&akid=174573.10220574.lFSQQT

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