Possible Trump attorney general floats Muslim immigrant registry, self-deportation


Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) is most famously the author of Arizona's hardline immigration law that, before parts of it were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered state and local law enforcement to demand proof of citizenship from certain people stopped by police. Now, he says he is part of Donald Trump's presidential transition team focused on immigration policy, and his name is being floated as a possible U.S. attorney general.
And Kobach has been floating some ideas of his own in the press, including rechanneling part of the Homeland Security budget to get an early start on building Trump's border wall without authorization from Congress, deporting certain immigrants without trial, and encouraging "self deportation," or making life so uncomfortable for illegal immigrants that they leave of their own accord. He tells Reuters that he will also recommend that the Trump administration bring back a system to register, fingerprint, and track mostly Muslims arriving in the U.S. from certain "higher risk" countries where extremist groups are active; some men over 16 would have to register and check in periodically at government offices.
Kobach helped design such a system, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, when he worked for the George W. Bush administration. The Obama administration scrapped it in 2011 when a Homeland Security Department review found it redundant.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
August 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include FEMA's new scheme, Gavin Newsom's antics, and a clue in the Epstein files
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda