Donald Trump started off his term with a bang issuing an executive order (EO) banning immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries citing terrorism and national security as the primary reasons. He lost bigly in court and eventually rescinded the order promising a new order that so far has not materialized. The administration requested a report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that they expected would provide the evidence they needed to proceed with a new EO. Well, the national security argument fell apart when a report (pdf), compiled by DHS that was prepared shortly after the court blocked the EO, stated citizenship is “likely an unreliable indicator of terrorist threat to the United States.” That document was released on Friday by the Associated Press.
Then Thursday night another document emerged that called into question the usefulness of extreme vetting in stopping terrorists from entering the country further undermining the meed fpr a travel ban.
The document, from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, makes the case that most foreign-born, U.S.-based violent extremists are likely not radicalized when they come to the U.S., but rather become radicalized after living in the U.S. for a number of years. [..]
The new assessment, obtained by the Rachel Maddow Show and dated March 1, tracks 88 violent, foreign-born extremists in the United States. More than half of them had been in the U.S. more than 10 years before they were indicted or killed.
Homeland Security tonight has confirmed the authenticity of the document. The department says production of it began in August 2016, and that it likely would have reached the White House.
It appears that the travel ban may be dead.