Donald Trump Says he ‘Absolutely’ Wants a Database
of Syrian Refugees
At a campaign event in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday Nov. 21,
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says, "I don't want
the people from Syria coming in because we don't know who they are."
He adds, "If I win, they are going back, we can't have them."
(Reuters)
By Jenna Johnson
November 22, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" - "WP"
- BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- After two days of confusion over whether
or not Donald Trump wants to set up a database of Muslims living in
the United States, the candidate explained his stance during a
political rally on Saturday morning.
"I will absolutely take database on the people coming in from
Syria," Trump said, adding that such a database would not be needed
in a Trump administration, as he would kick all Syrian refugees out
of the country, regardless of their religion, and allow no more to
enter. "If I win, they're going back. They're going back. We can't
have them."
Trump called for heavy surveillance of Syrians, Muslims and anyone
with possible ties to the Islamic State. He urged the audience
members to be vigilant and report anything suspicious they see to
the police.
"I want surveillance of certain mosques, okay? If that's okay?"
Trump said, as thousands of people in the audience cheered. "I want
surveillance. And you know what? We've had it before, and we'll have
it again."
Earlier in the week, Trump faced criticism for not immediately
rejecting the idea of using a religion-based database to track
Muslim Americans. He then faced increased criticism for seeming to
agree with the idea in an interview in Iowa on Thursday evening with
Vaughn Hillyard of NBC News. In that brief interview, Hillyard asked
Trump a series of questions about the possibility of a Muslim
database, and the candidate seemed to agree, using the words
"certainly" and "absolutely."
Trump said Saturday that he thought he was answering questions about
building a wall on the Mexican border. He called Hillyard "some
little wise guy who looks like he's 12 years old" and said music was
loudly playing during the interview, which was conducted as Trump
signed autographs following a town hall in Iowa on Thursday
afternoon.
"I was referring to the wall," Trump said. But then he added: "The
database is okay. A watch list is okay and surveillance is okay ...
I want surveillance of these people that are coming in, the Trojan
horse. I want to know who the hell they are."
Trump said part of the reason he wants heavy surveillance is that he
remembers watching the World Trade Center fall on 9/11 and hearing
reports of "thousands of people" cheering the destruction.
Since the terrorist attacks in Paris this month, many Republican
candidates have become increasingly skeptical of Muslims and Syrian
refugees. Trump has taken some of the most strident positions -- and
he says his poll numbers are going up as a result.
"We've gone way up, because people know that I'm going to protect
them," Trump said. "I'm going to protect them at the borders. I
don't want the people from Syria coming in, because we don't know
who they are. We don't know who they are. And I don't want them
coming in."
Jenna Johnson is a political reporter who is covering the 2016
presidential campaign.
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