Homeland Security Document Disputes Need For Trump Immigration Ban

A draft report from the Department of Homeland Security disputes the White House's claims that it is in the national interest to ban citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

"Citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity," says the document initially published by the Associated Press. "Relatively few citizens of the seven countries impacted by [the executive order] compared to neighboring countries, maintain access to the United States."

Gillian Christensen, acting press secretary for the department, acknowledged the validity of the document but noted that it was not "an official, robust document with thorough interagency sourcing."

"It is clear on its face that it is an incomplete product that fails to find evidence of terrorism by simply refusing to look at all the available evidence," she continued. "Pointed internal discussion about the merits of various intelligence products, and whether they have sufficient supporting data from the broader intelligence community, is an integral part of developing any official DHS intelligence assessment. "

She asserted that the countries of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen pose a risk to national security.

Read the full report from the AP.

President Trump signed the executive order on Jan. 27, which banned immigration from the seven countries. However, the order almost immediately caused chaos at airports and stirred protests. It faced challenges in the courts and was eventually suspended by a federal judge.

The White House announced it would roll out a new executive order this week that would achieve the same effect but better withstand judicial scrutiny. However, by midweek, it announced the new order would be delayed.

Critics say that the ban is unnecessary and unjustly discriminatory. The administration argues that it is a temporary measure necessary for national security and notes that the Obama White House had identified the seven countries as requiring greater screening.

Christensen's statement emphasized that any disagreements or discussions within DHS were based on national security, not political, considerations.

"Any suggestion by opponents of the president’s policies that senior DHS intelligence officials would politicize this process or a report’s final conclusions is absurd and not factually accurate," she said.

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