Muslim registryNYC mayor said city would sue U.S. government over Muslim registry
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city would sue the U.S. government if Muslims were required, under a Donald Trump administration, to sign up to a “registry.” “We will use all the tools at our disposal to stand up for our people,” he said. The Muslim registry plan advanced by Trump supporters like Kris Kobach, the secretary of state of Kansas, would require all Muslims in the United States sign to a registry in which they would reveal their identity, religious beliefs, and political affiliations. In its original form, the registry requirement would apply to Muslim visitors to the United States – students, business people, and tourists – as well as to Muslim citizens of the United States.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city would sue the U.S. government if Muslims were required, under a Donald Trump administration, to sign up to a “registry.”
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to stand up for our people,” he said.
“If all Muslims are required to register, we will take legal action to block it,” said the mayor.
“If the federal government wants our police officers to tear immigrant families apart, we will refuse to do it,” he added.
The New York Daily News notes that de Blasio spoke at the Cooper Union, the site of Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 passionate anti-slavery speech, which led to Republican Party to nominate him for president.
De Blasio was referring to a plan by president-elect Trump – a plan promoted by Kris Kobach, the fiercely anti0immigrant secretary of state of Kansas – to require all Muslims in the United States sign to a registry in which they would reveal their identity, religious beliefs, and political affiliations. In its original form, the registry requirement would apply to Muslim visitors to the United States – students, business people, and tourists – as well as to Muslim citizens of the United States.
Supporters of the Muslim registry proposal say it is but one aspect of the “extreme vetting” and surveillance measures of Muslims in the United States.
In his Cooper Union speech, de Blasio also said that the city would help law-abiding New Yorkers who have no legal representation to fight their deportation.
Last week, de Blasio announced he would refuse to resume the controversial policy of stop-and-frisk, which was found disproportionally to target minorities.
“We won’t trade in neighborhood policing for racial profiling,” he said.
De Blasio also pointed to evidence of an increased number of hate crimes against minorities – but also against Trump supporters, saying violence would not be tolerated.
“If Jews or Muslims or members of the LGBT community, or any community, are victimized and attacked, we will find their attackers. We will arrest them. We will prosecute them.”
