Donald Trump: Bill launched to block Muslim registry under President-elect

'This kind of xenophobic and hateful rhetoric has no place in our government,' says US politician

President-elect Donald Trump walks through the lobby of the New York Times following a meeting with editors (Getty)

A US politician has introduced plans to protect Muslims from having to register their religion in a national database under Donald Trump’s presidency.

Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene said her proposed legislation would counter “xenophobic and hateful rhetoric” and safeguard civil liberties for people of all faiths.

It comes days after a potential Trump cabinet member, Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, was photographed carrying files recommending the updating and reintroduction of a national immigration registry that was created following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Representative DelBene, a Democrat, said: “President-elect Donald Trump is breaking his promise to be a President for all Americans by supporting the creation of a Muslim registry.

“This kind of xenophobic and hateful rhetoric has no place in our government.

“We cannot allow our country to disregard the civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution.

“My bill would prohibit the administration from violating the constitutional rights of Americans because everyone should be treated equally under our laws.”

If passed, the legislation would cover US citizens, visa applicants and foreigners living in the country legally.

But Mr Trump’s incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus has said the President-elect’s team is not planning a religious registry, while declining to “rule out anything”.

He told NBC’s Meet The Press: “We're not going to have a registry based on a religion.

“What I think what we're trying to do is say that there are some people, certainly not all people... there are some people that are radicalized.

“And there are some people that have to be prevented from coming into this country.

“I'm not going to rule out anything.”

The Republican National Committee chairman also called for more a stringent vetting system for immigrants.

Mr Kobach’s briefing sheet was spotted by news photographers as he posed for pictures with Mr Trump on Sunday.

His plans for the Department of Homeland Security included creating “extreme vetting questions for high-risk aliens” to cover their views on Sharia law, jihad, gender equality and the US Constitution.

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (Getty)

Mr Trump’s administration should also reduce the intake of Syrian refugees to zero, he proposed.