Ahead of Trump taking office, Obama dumps entry-exit registry for some immigrant men

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Thursday, December 22, 2016
An elderly Afghan man reads the Quran a during of the Islamic month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 15, 2016.
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WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is officially ending a post-9/11 era registration system for immigrant men from mostly Muslim countries.

The decision to scrap the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System comes amid growing international terror fears and President-elect Donald Trump's suggestions that he could ban Muslim immigrants from the United States.

Trump said Wednesday, "You know my plans."

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Wednesday he had sent a letter to President Obama asking him to eliminate what he called an "unconstitutional religious registry."

The NSEERS program was widely derided by civil libertarians as an effort to profile people based on race and religion.

The administration hasn't been using the program since 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.