Trump Muslim Registry: ‘Most Dangerous Guy’ Kris Kobach Proposes National Database

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is said to be under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump for attorney general, is proposing the reinstatement of a national Muslim database that was put into use following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and used until 2011, as reported by Reuters.

The potential Trump Muslim registry said to be favored by Kobach is known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). The program required people from countries deemed to pose a “higher risk” to submit to fingerprinting and interviews when traveling to the United States, as well as requiring male, non-citizen residents over 16 years of age from countries with a perceived active threat to provide details to be listed in a national database, similar to the proposed Trump registry.

John Iadarola with The Young Turk warned that a “best cast scenario” for a reinstated Kris Kobach Muslim registry would be that it is “only as horrendous” as it was when first put into use in 2002.

Kris Kobach was said to have been part of a team who authored a 2010 bill, portions of which were eventually struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, “requiring” both local and state law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of anyone stopped by the police. Reuters described the bill as being “fiercely opposed” by civil and Hispanic rights groups.

Iadarola noted that the Muslim registry currently proposed is only for people from countries with ties to terrorism.

“I guess the U.S. will be exempt, even though we have tons of proliferating militias and other extremist organizations,” John Iadarola speculated.

“I think Kris Kobach’s the most dangerous guy in the Trump administration, if he makes it in,” TYT co-founder Cenk Uygur said with regard to the Kansas secretary of state.

Uygur described wondering why former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani wasn’t being named as a lock for attorney general. He stated that he came to the realization that Kris Kobach is under consideration because he is the “main architect” behind all legislation in America that targets groups of people based on their heritage or religion. The TYT host also cited examples of Kobach’s involvement in voter suppression tactics and stated that he is “worse” than Giuliani.

“You need a minority group targeted, you call Kris Kobach,” Cenk Uygur stated.

The host held up the absurdity of the attorney general of the United States participating in, let alone drafting legislation for, a national Muslim registry as an abstract.

“Well, it’s begun. Immediately, it begins.”

Uygur discussed how, even if a Muslim database only tracks non-citizens in the United States from countries deemed to have terrorist connections, the underlying assumption is that somehow, by definition, Muslims are bad and need to be tracked.

The TYT host asked what will stop the question becoming “If Muslims are dangerous, why aren’t we tracking the Muslim citizens too?” He then extended this to other marginalized members of U.S. society, including Mexicans and African-Americans, and rhetorically pondered what type of symbols Donald Trump and Kris Kobach might come up with to identify different heritages.

Cenk Uygur concluded by unapologetically labeling Kobach the “most un-American person in the country.”

“I would certainly implement that,” Donald Trump answered a reporter when asked about his thoughts on a national Muslim registry in a campaign clip played by TYT.

The president-elect went on to state that such a national database could be implemented and maintained with “good management.”

After referring to Donald Trump as a “moron,” taking exception with his campaign promises of “good management,” John Iadarola observed that “may be what he’s worst at.”

Iadarola went on to state that if Trump receives assistance with the transition from President Barack Obama, he will “rise to the level of doing a piss-poor job” at managing it.

Stating that despite that fact that Donald Trump and his team appear to be “trying really hard at it,” Cenk Uygur professed a belief that the president-elect’s biggest problem isn’t his “racism and bigotry,” but, indeed, his “incompetence.”

Uygur then challenged Donald Trump’s ability to manage “himself out of a paper bag,” before stating that the Obama-Trump transition is a “mess.”

[Featured Image by KellyAndrade/iStock]