Story highlights It was not clear how Donald Trump wishes to profile suspects

The GOP nominee praised Israel's approach to profiling

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his support for the controversial practice of racial profiling by police amid increasing threats to the homeland.

"Our local police -- they know who a lot of these people are. They are afraid to do anything about it because they don't want to be accused of profiling," Trump said on Fox News on Monday. Trump pointed to how Israel used profiling and "done an unbelievable job."

Trump did not say on what attributes he would encourage police to profile possible suspects, but It's illegal for police to subject US persons to disparate treatment based on their race or other protected status.

"They see somebody that's suspicious, they will profile," Trump said. "Look what's going on: Do we really have a choice? We're trying to be so politically correct in our country, and this is only going to get worse."

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