Republican Trump calls for database to track US Muslims

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would implement a database to keep track of Muslims in the United States as part of his immigration policy.

Trump, interviewed by NBC News after a campaign appearance in Iowa on Thursday night, was asked how a database tracking Muslims differed from efforts last century to track Jews in Nazi Germany, and said: "You tell me."

His comments come amid renewed security concerns following the Islamic State attacks in Paris last week that killed at least 129 people and US plans to take in 10,000 refugees from Syria.



Trump, who has made immigration policy a key part of his campaign for the Republican nomination in the November 2016 presidential election, told NBC a database would be part of his plan.

"I would certainly implement that, absolutely," he said, adding that the United States also should control its border with Mexico with a wall, something he has long touted.

"There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases," he said. Trump said he would use "good management" to register Muslims and that they would be signed up "at different places." When asked whether Muslims should be legally required to register for the database, he said, "They have to be - they have to be."

The Paris attacks also have raised questions about the US refugee program and its handling of those fleeing Syria, the militant group's stronghold along with Iraq.



Many Republicans have called for a pause in the program because of fears that militants might sneak into the country.

The Republican-led US House of Representatives passed a measure on Thursday to halt Syria refugees but President Barack Obama has vowed to veto the bill.

Other Republican presidential candidates have backed such efforts, including Trump's closest Republican rival in the polls, Ben Carson, who likened Syrian refugees to "rabid dogs" who would put the country at risk. Republican candidate Jeb Bush pushed back against Trump's call for tracking Muslims, saying, "That's just wrong."

"It's manipulating people's angst and their fears," he said on CNBC on Friday.

"That's not strength. That's weakness." Leading Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for a tougher stance against Islamic State even as she backed Obama's decision to resettle as many as 10,000 refugees fleeing Syria.