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Homeland Security report: Citizens from travel ban countries aren't terror threats

Citizenship 'unlikely indicator' of terror threat
Posted at 4:56 PM, Feb 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-24 16:56:09-05

WASHINGTON (AP) — Analysts at the Homeland Security Department's intelligence arm found insufficient evidence that citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries included in President Donald Trump's travel ban pose a terror threat to the United States.

A draft document obtained by The Associated Press concludes that citizenship is an "unlikely indicator" of terrorism threats to the United States and that few people from the countries Trump listed in his travel ban have carried out attacks or been involved in terrorism-related activities in the U.S. since Syria's civil war started in 2011.

Trump used terrorism a primary justification when he announced the now court-blocked travel ban in late January.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen does not dispute the report's authenticity, but says it was not a final comprehensive review of the government's intelligence.