Pro-Refugee Protests Staged across US amid Racist Comments by Presidential Hopefuls

Trump was branded 'abhorrent' after he said on Thursday that he supported registering Muslims. Meanwhile Ben Carson was also accused of creating a 'toxic environment' for Muslims after he compared Syrian refugees to 'rabid dogs'.

Demonstrators in Washington and Vermont on Friday called for Trump and other Republican presidential candidates to relax their stance towards refugees.

Protesters rallied in Olympia, Washington, on Friday, calling for the United States to do more to help refugees fleeing civil war and ISIL in the Middle East.

They chanted 'racists go home' at a counter-demonstration by a group demanding tougher restrictions on refugees entering the country.

There were similar clashes in Montpelier, Vermont, where those supporting refugees vastly outnumbered those rallying against allowing Syrians into the country.

Asked whether he would implement a register and ID cards for Muslims, Trump said that he "would certainly implement that. Absolutely.'

Trump told an NBC News reporter between campaign events in Newton, Iowa, that Muslims would be signed up at 'different places.'

But he retreated quickly Friday morning, posting a note on his Twitter page that said: "I didn't suggest a database - a reporter did."

Cruz called himself 'a big fan of Donald Trump's but I'm not a fan of government registries of American citizens'.
He said the move would interfere with the First Amendment.

'The First Amendment protects religious liberty and I’ve spent the past several decades defending the religious liberty of every American,' Cruz said.

John Kasich criticized the front-runner for trying to 'divide people'.

Even former Defense Secretary Robert Gates piled on, telling Fox News on Friday that creating a national registry for Muslims would be 'a terrible mistake.'