MEGYN KELLY (HOST): You heard the mayor's position, which is, you know, we just -- we don't do that kind of thing, we don't create registries based on religion.



CARL HIGBIE: Yeah, well, we have in the past. We've done it based on race, we've done it based on religion, we've done it based on region. And the fact is he also brings it back as like, a constitutionality issue, the problem is is people outside this country are not protected under the same constitutional rights as we are in America.



KELLY: So, you think it's a good idea, and you don't care that this is some sort of a slippery slope where Muslims may just get lumped into some group, where they get put in a registry, and some you know, some aggressive law enforcement actor in the future might abuse that list?



HIGBIE: Absolutely, look, there is always a case for abuse in this thing. But the fundamental problem here is we have a large faction, look -- Look, being a part of the Muslim faith is not a bad thing, and there is plenty -- there is, you know, 1.6 billion Muslims out there.



Most of them are perfectly good people, but the fact is there is a small percentage of people that have chose to align with an extreme ideology within the faith, and they're doing harm. So, we would like it keep tabs on it until we can figure out what's going on, Trump has said “Look, it's a -- it's a regional based thing right now, if they're coming into our country we need to know who they are, where they are, and what's going on,” because he's trying to protect --



KELLY: Well, he's trying to stop -- he's trying to stop immigration into the country from countries where there are major terrorist issues, and we -- until we can figure out what's going on, but this seems like something else, which is if you're coming over -- I mean, this is just what I'm reading, OK?



This is, that -- that again, the Kansas Secretary of State Chris Kobach, who helped write the tough immigration laws in Arizona, said today that Trump's policies advisers are drafting -- they're discussing drafting a proposal to reinstate a registry for immigrants from Muslim countries. For immigrants from Muslim countries.



HIGBIE: Yeah, and to be perfectly honest, it is legal. They say it will hold constitutional muster. I know the ACLU is gonna challenge it, but I think it'll pass, and we've done it with Iran back -- back a while ago. We did it during World War II with Japanese, which, you know, call it what you will, maybe --



KELLY: Come on. You're not -- you're not proposing we go back to the days of internment camps, I hope.



HIGBIE: No, no, no. I'm not proposing that at all, Megyn, but what I am saying is we need to protect America from --



KELLY: You know better than to suggest that. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that gets people scared, Carl.



HIGBIE: Right, but it's -- I'm just saying there is precedent for it, and I'm not saying I agree with it, but in this case I absolutely believe that a regional based --



KELLY: You can't be citing Japanese internment camps as precedent for anything the president-elect is gonna do.



HIGBIE: Look, the president needs to protect America first, and if that means having people that are not protected under our Constitution have some sort of registry so we can understand, until we can identify the true threat and where it's coming from, I support it.

Previously:



An Anti-LGBTQ Birther Who Leads An Anti-Muslim Hate Group Reportedly Advising Trump's Transition



The Trump Campaign's New CEO Sees Muslim Brotherhood Connections Everywhere



NBC's Chuck Todd Presses Trump On Whether Muslim Ban Would Include France



Fox Host Claims Trump “Never Said He Was Blocking Muslims From Coming To The Country”