Under fire, Mr. Trump soon backpedaled to suggest that Muslims in the United States might be subject to “surveillance, including a watch list,” rather than a registry. In recent days, Kris Kobach, a prominent anti-illegal immigration hard-liner working on Mr. Trump’s transition, said the team was considering whether to formally recommend a national registry for visitors and immigrants from Muslim countries. At the least, those incendiary remarks suggest that the transition team hasn’t gotten the memo from Mr. Trump, who has pledged publicly to seek national reconciliation. Equally self-defeating, a religious “test” or registry would risk alienating Muslim citizens of the United States, whose assimilation and loyalty to America are a bulwark against domestic terrorist threats. A registry of immigrants is another and would propel the United States into an era of officially induced fear and suspicion.

Source: Washington Post November 21, 2016 00:26 UTC