On Wednesday, Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State and a member of President-elect Trump’s transition team, announced that he and the soon-to-be President were working on plans to create a registry for Muslim immigrants and begin construction of “the wall” along the Southern U.S. border.
Kobach stated that he and other Trump advisers are looking into how to implement the registry. They are also seeking out ways to begin construction of the infamous Southern barrier without seeking immediate congressional approval.
All of these plans are described by Kobach as those which would allow “Trump and the Department of Homeland Security [to] hit the ground running.” The registration scheme would include giving Muslims a form of identification which noted their religion. Kobach helped design a similar program for George W. Bush, but it was abandoned in 2011 after complaints from civil libertarians.
Kobach noted that after initial planning and work on the wall began, it could perhaps require input from Congress after the fact, as “future fiscal years will require additional appropriations.” Kobach also stated that he believes that undocumented immigrants should be deported before being convicted of a crime of which they are charged.
Trump’s transition team is also in discussion to discover ways to overturn President Obama‘s executive action which temporarily halted the deportations of more than 700,000 immigrants.
UPDATE 11/18: As this article is reported based on the accounts of Kobach, its contents are contingent upon his credibility. There is yet no substantive evidence he has spoken to the Trump transition team, but there is also nothing which has been presented by the Trump team or anyone else to refute his assertions.
