by 
Ben Carson, Republican candidate for president and former pediatric neurosurgeon, says he would like to see the United States compile a database on every immigrant who enters the country. He was commenting on fellow candidate Donald Trump’s statement that he would not rule-out the creation of a registry to track Muslims for terrorist activity. What seemed like a contradiction Carson also said that Trump’s suggestion to track and target Muslims specifically could be “setting a pretty dangerous precedent.”
Carson was in Concord, New Hampshire speaking to reporters after registering to be on the ballot in the state’s primary on February 1 2016.
“Well, I think we should have a database on everybody who comes into this country,” he said.
Further question on the issue elicited his hope that “we already have a database on every citizen who is already here. If we don’t, we’re doing a very poor job,” he added.
When asked what kind of information he would like to see in the database he said he wants the country “to be able to know who they are. I want to know where they came from. I want to know where they’re going and why they’re here.”
One reporter asserted that “That’s already being done.”
Asked to support or dispute Trump’s view that we should have stricter scrutiny of Muslims coming to the US from countries such as Syria and Iraq, Carson bowed out.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to treat anybody differently. You know, one of the hallmarks of America is that we treat everybody the same,” he continued. “So if we’re just going to pick out a particular group of people based on their religion, based on their race, based on some other thing, that’s setting a pretty dangerous precedent, I believe.”
