WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) announced Monday that she is demanding the suspension of the NSEERS (National Security Entry-Exit Registration) Program to protect the civil liberties of legal non-immigrant visa holders; especially men of Middle Eastern, Muslim and North Korean descent.

“It is not patriotic to institute thoughtless policies based on a knee jerk reaction for heightened security,” said Rep. Woolsey. “Especially as we work to prevent future terrorist attacks, we must be ever vigilant in protecting the rights and liberties that are the backbone of our culture and society. No one should live in fear because of his or her ethnic background or religious affiliation.”

Rep. Woolsey is leading 23 of her Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft demanding that the NSEERS program be immediately suspended until Congress and the Department of Justice have a thorough investigation into the necessity of the program. The NSEERS program requires non-immigrant visa holders from 21 primarily Muslim nations, and North Korea, to appear at INS offices to be interviewed, photographed, and fingerprinted.

Since NSEERS was enacted last fall, there have been daily reports of injustice and violations to law-abiding immigrants complying with the program. In California alone, hundreds of males who are lawfully fulfilling their duty under this program’s requirements have been detained without proper jurisdiction.

Says Rep. Woolsey in the letter to the U.S. Attorney General: “There has been no balance demonstrated between respecting civil liberties and securing our borders. The information sought is questionable -- credit cards, bank accounts, video rental card numbers -- and for those here on student visas, affiliations with campus political and religious groups, as well as, names of roommates. These actions raise both Constitutional and privacy concerns.”