During the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump stated that the United States should consider closing mosques as part of the fight against ISIS. The comments, made during a television interview, drew immediate criticism from civil liberties organizations, Muslim advocacy groups, and some fellow Republican candidates. Trump suggested that some mosques in the United States were being used to radicalize individuals and plan attacks, and that surveillance and potential closure of such facilities should be considered. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the remarks as unconstitutional and un-American. Constitutional law experts noted that closing houses of worship would almost certainly violate the First Amendment's protections of religious freedom and the right to assemble. The comments were part of a broader pattern of controversial statements on Islam and immigration that characterized Trump's 2016 campaign.