'Trump will deport you,' US teacher tells refugee child

A teacher from the US state of Arizona is in hot water after allegedly telling a Muslim child that if elected president Donald Trump will deport him.

The teacher's alleged actions came to light after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed complaints against her to the US justice and education departments.

Faye Myles, a teacher at the Academy of Excellence school in Phoenix, is said to have singled out student A.A because of his Muslim faith and Somali nationality. A.A, who is 11-years-old, arrived to the US as a refugee in 2012.

"I can't wait until Trump is elected," the teacher reportedly told A.A.

"He's going to deport all you Muslims. Muslims shouldn't be given visas. They'll probably take away your visa and deport you. You're going to be the next terrorist, I bet."

According to the ACLU complaint, Myles' harrassment "was extensive" and went as far as choking the child "until his eyes began to water from the pain".

Accounts given by other students have corroborated the incidents mentioned, ACLU attorney Heather Weaver told Pheonix broadcaster 12 News.

Myles is also said to have played a clip relating to the September 11 attacks in New York while telling A.A, "that's going to be you", referring to the hijackers.

As a result of the harrassment, A.A's parents withdrew him and his sibling from the school, with the ACLU stating that the children were "unlawfully forced out".

	Donald Trump initially promised that he would ban Muslims from entering the United States [AFP]

The reports of A.A's harrassment have shocked many, however, Weaver believes that the incidents are indicative of a national trend that is veering towards xenophobia.

"We've also seen a rise in the number of complaints across the country of children in school being targeted because they are Muslim and immigrant," she said. "A large part is due to a lot of the rhetoric we've seen across the country."

While Trump has set his campaign firmly on an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim ticket, the xenophobia and hate spewed by the business tycoon seems to have done little to hurt his chances of winning the White House.

According to a poll published by conducted by NBC News/Washington Post on Tuesday,  Donald Trump is leading Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by one point. This puts the controversial Republican nominee ahead for the first time in the race.

This follows weeks of disastrous poll results for Trump, whose campaign took its biggest hit from a string of allegations of sexual assault by several women, coupled with leaked tapes of the Republican nominee making inappropriate comments about women.