Government terrorism report is incomplete

Officials say it proves need to limit immigration

The Trump administration released a terrorism report Tuesday aimed at bolstering its push for stricter limits on legal immigration to the USA, but it conceded that the report is incomplete and needs more details to paint the full picture of the threats posed by foreignborn terrorists.

The report, written by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, was released Tuesday as Congress tried to craft a compromise that would extend protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children in exchange for enhanced immigration enforcement.

The report found that of 549 terrorism-related convictions in U.S. federal courts since the 9/11 attacks, 402 of the defendants (73%) were foreign-born. The report found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deported 1,716 individuals over “national security concerns” from 2001 and 2017.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the findings prove the United States must reduce chain migration — the ability of U.S. citizens and green card holders to sponsor their relatives abroad to enter the USA — and the diversity visa lottery.

“This report is a clear reminder of why we cannot continue to rely on immigration policy based on pre-9/11 thinking that leaves us woefully vulnerable to foreign-born terrorists,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement.

The report does not show how many of the convicted people entered the country through chain migration or the diversity visa lottery. It does not show how the 1,716 people deported on terrorism grounds entered the country.