Donald Trump’s promise to strengthen national security against radical jihadist terrorism is reportedly taking shape in the form of a national registry system that would identify, and possibly even allow authorities to monitor, immigrants coming from Arab and Muslim-majority nations. The controversial program could require Muslim Americans already living in the country to identify themselves, a proposal that is being compared to the anti-Semitic Jewish national registry in Nazi Germany.
In a time where the Islamic State has unleashed a series of deadly attacks across the globe and international terror groups are gaining territory in the Middle East and Africa, Americans have grown increasingly worried over where immigrants entering the United States are coming from, and whether terrorists are able to get through the nation's vetting process from war-torn countries like Syria. The issue became the core of Trump's presidential campaign, as the GOP candidate promised to ban all Muslims from entering the country and told reporters he would "certainly implement" a national registry system for Muslim Americans. With the New York billionaire now headed to the White House, the debate over whether targeting members of a specific religion in the name of national security will be found constitutional in Trump's America could just be getting started.
Muslim American women protest President-Elect Donald Trump at a campaign rally Oct. 14, 2016. Photo: Reuters
Trump has spent months brainstorming a national registry for Muslim immigrants, according to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who told Reuters he participated in numerous conference calls with his transition team discussing the issue.
The new policy could mirror the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, legislation passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that required immigrants from mostly Arab and Muslim-majority countries to meet additional immigration requirements, from passing interrogation sessions to providing fingerprints. At least 93,000 people were forced to enter into the registry, which was phased out a decade later after it failed to yield a single terrorism-related conviction. The program was considered ineffective and discriminatory, while the Department of Homeland Security was applauded for shutting down the registry indefinitely in 2011.
However, it was never found to be unconstitutional in court, likely due to the registry's creation immediately following the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history. Heightened patriotism and demands for defensive action from the federal government allowed the registry to avoid a certain level of scrutiny experts say it would almost certainly face today.
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