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CAIR urges Trump to reject racist rhetoric from aides
CAIR Urges Trump to Reject Proposal for ‘Registry’ of Muslims, Talk of ‘Internment’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on President-elect Donald Trump to repudiate a prominent supporter who cited the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans as a “precedent” for an immigrant registry proposed by a member of his presidential transition team.
Carl Higbie, a former spokesman for a political action committee (PAC) that backed Trump in the presidential election, made the comments about internment during an appearance last night on Fox News.
Higbie was offering support for a proposal by Kris Kobach, a member of the Trump transition team, to reinstate a national registry for immigrants from countries where terrorist groups were active. The previous National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) was introduced following the 9/11 terror attacks, but was suspended in 2011 after heavy criticism by civil rights organizations, including CAIR.
NSEERS required certain non-citizen males over the age of 14 from 25 countries to be registered and fingerprinted. With the sole exception of North Korea, every one of the 25 countries on the NSEERS bulletin was Muslim or Arab.
In 2011, CAIR welcomed the suspension of the “ineffective and burdensome program that was perceived as a massive profiling campaign targeting individuals based on their religion and ethnicity.”
“Talk of Muslim registries and internment at a time of unprecedented Islamophobia only serves to deepen divisions resulting from the presidential campaign and does nothing to strengthen our nation’s security,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “We must not turn back the clock to times of reactionary programs and policies that have been proven to be ineffective and discriminatory.”
CAIR recently updated its site with information about the extremist anti-Muslim views of a number of potential Trump administration appointees.
The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is monitoring a troubling spike in anti-Muslim and racist incidents since the November 8 election.
Muslim community members who believe their rights have been violated are being asked to contact local police and CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report by clicking here.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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