Trump Supporter Cites Japanese Internment as Precedent for Muslim Registry

Trump

by Josh Guckert

In an interview on Wednesday with Megyn Kelly, Trump supporter and author Carl Higbie defended against reports that the President-elect would use a registry for those of the Islamic faith entering into the country. This claim originated (and was reported by The Libertarian Republic) due to claims by Kansas Secretary of State and possible Trump Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Higbie, a spokesman for the pro-Trump Great America PAC during the campaign, stated that although the ACLU would likely attack such a program, it should pass constitutional muster. Said Higbie:

It is legal, they say it will hold constitutional muster. I know the the ACLU is going to challenge it, but I think it will pass. And we’ve done it with Iran back— back a while ago, we did it during World War II with Japanese, which, call it what you will it may be wrong.

At that point, Kelly interjected for his citing of Korematsu v. United States as a precedent for a potential Muslim registry program. In that Supreme Court case, the Court upheld President Franklin Roosevelt‘s Executive Order 9066, which interned thousands of Japanese people (both American citizens and not) during World War II.

It is difficult to know at this point what role (if any) which Higbie will play in Trump’s Administration, but his statements should be quite troubling to Americans of all ideologies. Beyond Higbie individually, his assertions possibly reflect that this sentiment (using Korematsu as license for a Muslim registry) could be held by other members of the Trump team.

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