Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has expressed her readiness to “register as Muslim” in solidarity, responding to reports that President Donald Trump plans to legally force all America’s Muslims to register their religious identity.
“I was raised Catholic, became Episcopalian and found out later my family was Jewish. I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity,” 79-year-old Albright tweeted on Wednesday.
Eager to express her thoughts further, she also wrote that “America must remain open to people of all faiths and backgrounds.”
Albright herself is an immigrant, born Marie Jana Korbelová in the Czech Republic, which her Twitter account proudly declares.
Albright’s words come amid reports that Trump is about to order mandatory registry for Muslims.
In a November 2016 interview with Reuters, Trump’s immigration adviser Kris Kobach said the president’s team was mulling reinstating the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS).
The 9/11 era system subjected males aged 16 and older from 25 Muslim-majority countries to additional checks before entering the US, as well as being monitored while in the country.
It also required Muslim men already living in the US to register with immigration. Trump commented on the potential of reviving the system later the same month, saying he would “certainly implement that — absolutely” and that Muslims “have to be” registered, but had not mentioned it since.
Source: Agencies
