Haley: No Muslim registry under Trump administration

Nikki Haley, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations, repudiated the idea of a registry for Muslim immigrants or Muslim Americans during her confirmation hearing Wednesday.

When asked about Trump’s openness to the idea of a registry during a rapid-fire round of questioning, Haley swatted aside the suggestion as an idea from “early on” in the presidential campaign that Trump no longer supports.

“His administration and I don’t think there should be any registry based on religion,” she said.

{mosads}”What we do need to do is know which countries are a threat and those are the ones we need to watch and be careful and vet,” she said.

Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pressed Haley on whether there could ever be justification for a registry of Muslim Americans in the country.

“No, there is not,” Haley responded.

Trump said during the fall of 2015 that he would “absolutely” require Muslims to register in a database. He also called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. from other countries. After backlash, he amended his push, calling for a ban on immigration from countries with terror ties.

Haley’s direct repudiation of the registry stands in contrast from last week’s confirmation hearing with secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson. While Tillerson ruled out a “blanket-ban” on Muslim immigration to America, he said he would need more information before deciding whether to support a registry of Muslims.