State of Washington, et al., v. Trump., et al
Filing
4
DECLARATION OF NOAH PURCELL re 3 Emergency MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order by Plaintiff State of Washington (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit)(Purcell, Noah)
Purcell
Declaration
Exhibit B
Trump's Immigration Freeze Omits Those Linked To
Deadly Attacks In U.S.
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January 27, 20171:32 PM ET
Greg Myre
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Protesters hold signs near the White House during a protest about President Donald Trump's
immigration policies on Wednesday. A proposed presidential action would freeze immigration from
seven mostly Muslim countries for security reasons. But the list does not include any of the countries
whose nationals have killed Americans in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001. Alex Brandon/AP hide
caption
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Alex Brandon/AP
Protesters hold signs near the White House during a protest about President Donald Trump's
immigration policies on Wednesday. A proposed presidential action would freeze immigration from
seven mostly Muslim countries for security reasons. But the list does not include any of the countries
whose nationals have killed Americans in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001.
Alex Brandon/AP
Updated 2 p.m. ET
President Trump's freeze on immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries cites the potential
threat of terrorism. But here's the twist — it doesn't include any countries from which radicalized
Muslims have actually killed Americans in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001.
The president's executive action, which he signed Friday at the Pentagon, applies to these countries:
Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Sudan.
Yet no Muslim extremist from any of these places has carried out a fatal attack in the U.S. in more
than two decades.
In contrast, here are the countries of origin of radicalized Muslims who carried out deadly attacks in
the U.S., beginning on Sept. 11, 2001: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates,
Pakistan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
The two lists are completely distinct, raising questions about the reasoning behind the White House
plan.
"These seven countries were identified by the Obama Administration as needing further travel
scrutiny," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Sunday on ABC's This NTeek. "There are 46
other countries with Muslim populations that are not part of this and I think that's an important
thing to note."
Article continues after sponsorshipBut there were many critics.
"I think this is an overreaction," says Charles Kurzman, a sociology professor at the University of
North Carolina, who has tracked Muslim extremism in the U.S. for years.
"We just haven't seen a large number of Muslim-Americans answering the call to revolutionary
violence that the self-proclaimed Islamic State and other groups have been pitching at them," he
adds.
The nations on the White House list include several mired in civil wars, as well as those that host
extremist groups. All have had fraught relations with the U.S. American drones or warplanes have
conducted airstrikes in five of the seven.
The executive action read: "Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster,
and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter our
country."
Existing visa restrictions
Citizens from the seven nations in Trump's order already faced great difficulty in obtaining visas,
gaining refugee status or immigrating to the U.S.
"The U.S. immigration vetting system is extremely thorough. That is perhaps why we've seen so little
violence by immigrants and refugees in the United States," said Kurzman. "As someone who brings
over international students, international scholars for conferences and training programs, I know
how hard it is to get even extremely upright folks through that system."
The ig terrorists on the hijacked planes used in the Sept. 11 attacks were from four countries not on
the new White House list — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
PIAM
Since then, radicalized Muslims have carried out a number of deadly attacks in the.U.S. The precise
count varies among groups that track the terror threat, but most groups cite fewer than 10 lethal
attacks and fewer than loo deaths, including New America, a non-partisan think tank in
Washington.
The deadliest single attack was at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last June, which left 49 dead. The
man responsible was Omar Mateen, whose parents were from Afghanistan, though he was born New
York. Afghanistan is not on the White House list.
In a few cases, foreign-born nationals have carried out lethal attacks.
They include Tashfeen Malik, who, along with her husband, was responsible for the San Bernardino,
Ca., shooting that claimed 14 lives in December 2015. She was born in Pakistan, but spent most of
her life in Saudi Arabia until she came to the U.S. in 2014 on a fiancee visa to marry Syed Rizwan
Farook. He was born in Chicago, to a family originally from Pakistan. Neither Pakistan nor Saudi
Arabia are on the White House list.
Similarly, the Boston Marathon bombing was carried out by two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokar
Tsarnaev. Tamerlan was born in the Soviet Union (now southern Russia), and Dzhokar was born in
Krygyzstan. Those countries are not on the White House list.
Here's a list of attacks linked to radicalized Muslims in the U.S. since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks:
2016
Omar Mateen shot dead 49 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. His parents were originally from Afghanistan. He
was born in New York.
2015
Syed Rizwan Farook'and his wife Tashfeen Malik shot dead 14 people at an office in San Bernardino, Ca., before
they were killed. He was born in Chicago to parents from Pakistan. She was born in Pakistan and raised mostly in
Saudi Arabia.
2015
Mohammad Abdulazeez opened fire at two military recruiting centers in Chattanooga, Tenn., killing five U.S.
military personnel. He was a naturalized American who was born in Kuwait to parents who were Jordanian and
Palestinian.
2013
Two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev carried out the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three.
Tamerlan was born in the Soviet Union (now southern Russia), and Dzokhar was born in Kyrgyzstan.
2009
Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, shot dead 13 in Ft. Hood, Texas. Hasan, who was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents
who had immigrated from the West Bank, has been sentenced to the death penalty.
2009
Abdulhakim Muhammad shot and killed an Army private at a recruiting center in Little Rock. He was born in
Memphis to a Christian family, but converted to Islam and changed his name from Carlos Bledsoe.
2002
Egyptian national Hesham Hadayet shot dead two Israelis at the El AI airline ticket counter at the Los Angeles
Airport before being killed.
Sources: New America, Charles Kurzman, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism
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