Donald Trump said he still planned to ban Muslims from entering the US and to build a Muslim “registry” after the latest terrorist attacks in Berlin.
Following an Isis-related attack at a Christmas market in Berlin this week, Mr Trump renewed his calls to carry out sweeping discriminatory acts against Muslims from overseas and the American Muslim population of around 3.3 million people.
“You know my plans all along and I’ve been proven to be right,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“100 per cent correct. What’s happening is disgraceful,” Trump said.
Speaking in the wake of the Berlin Christmas market attack and the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Turkey, he said, “It’s an attack on humanity and it’s got to be stopped,”
However, the Obama administration just made it harder for Trump to introduce such a program. The US government is cancelling an inactive registry program for visitors from countries where extremist groups are operating, a plan similar to the Muslim registry being considered by Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security is formally ending the National Security Entry-Exit Registration Systems programme (NSEERS), by removing outdated regulations, Spokesman Neema Hakim said on Thursday. The rule change will be published in the Federal Register on Friday and takes effect immediately.
The announcement came as a growing number of prominent tech companies including Facebook, Twitter and Apple have told various news organisations that they would not help the Trump administration build a Muslim registry.
Earlier this month, employees at dozens of technology companies also signed an online pledge vowing not to help Trump build a data registry to track people based on their religion or assist in mass deportations. The petition has been signed by over 2,500 employees.
Read more: Trump after Berlin, Turkey attacks: ‘I’ve been proven to be right’
