Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an anti-immigration hardliner and part of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, would like Trump to consider instituting a registry and tracking system for visitors to the U.S. from some Muslim countries. Carl Higbie, a former Navy SEAL and spokesman for a pro-Trump super PAC, argued Wednesday that such a system would be both legal and a good idea. “I know the ACLU is gonna challenge it, but I think it’ll pass,” he told Fox News host Megyn Kelly. “We did it during World War II with Japanese,” he said, before Kelly jumped in. “You’re not proposing we go back to the days of internment camps, I hope?” she said. “You know better than to suggest that. I mean, that’s the kind of stuff that gets people scared, Carl.” Higbie said he’s “just saying there is precedent for it, and I’m not saying I agree with it,” and Kelly cut in again: “You can’t be citing Japanese internment camps as precedent for anything the president-elect is going to do.” Higbie said “the president needs to protect America first,” and if that includes a registry, that was fine with him.
Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as "precedent" for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc
— Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016