PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2017-02-01 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • No Deadly Terrorist Attacks by People from Countries Included in Foreign Entry Restriction? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • In late January 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting U.S. entry by foreign nationals from seven countries of particular concern for 90 days. Although the text of order did not specify which countries it referred to, a fact sheet issued by the Department of Homeland Security issued a fact sheet that identified them as Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Shortly after issuance of the executive order, a chart (displayed above) was circulated via social media that was a modified version of a graphic published by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. The think tank argued that persons from the countries included in the order did not pose a serious threat to Americans, as no such foreign nationals had ever carried out a lethal terrorist attack in the United States: Cato tallied the number of Americans killed in the United States by foreign-born terrorists (categorized by country) and found that nationals from the seven countries included in President Trump's order had not been responsible for any deaths on American soil between 1975 and 2015: The Cato Institute's full chart (which can be seen here) also tallied that nationals from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon had killed hundreds of United States citizens during the same time period. The bulk of these deaths occurred during the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which involved hijackers from all four of those countries (although that information reflected the birthplaces and/or citizenship of the terrorists and did not necessarily indicate the countries in which they resided when they planned and initiated their attacks): The author also noted the limitations of his chart: New America, another think tank, came to a similar conclusion, stating that not one of the deadly terrorist attacks taking place since the events of 11 September 2001 was perpetrated by persons who had emigrated from one of the seven countries covered by the executive order: Although nationals from the countries covered by the order may not have not been responsible for any lethal terrorist attacks on American soil, they have been implicated in a number of other acts of terrorism. And according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, these countries were also already identified as countries of concern by the Obama administration: Foreign nationals from the countries identified in the 2015 law were not explicitly banned from entering the United States at that time. Instead, those who had visited any of those seven countries after 2011 were required to reapply for visas. Under the Visa Waiver Program, citizens of participating countries are allowed to travel to the U.S. without a visa for stays of up to 90 days for either business or tourism. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url