AP: Homeland Security intel report disputes threat posed by travel ban nations

A new document uncovered by The Associated Press may make it more difficult for President Trump to reinstate his travel ban involving seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The draft report comes from the president's own Department of Homeland Security as the Trump administration tries to relaunch the travel ban put on hold by a lawsuit filed by the Washington state attorney general.

The newly revealed document from the Homeland Security Department says the country of citizenship appears to be an unreliable indicator of terrorist activity. It also says few of the countries impacted by the travel ban have terrorists that threaten the West.

We asked for analysis from Davis Bae, who has decades of experience practicing immigration law.

“If they are coming out and saying that nationality isn't strong determination of a threat, then it takes away from his argument about those seven countries,” he said.

He said it also bolsters the arguments Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson used to successfully block the current travel ban.

“I think it bolsters it significantly,” he said. "Because you are getting his own agencies opposing him on the factual nature of the threat."

Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen told The Associated Press that the draft is not a final comprehensive review of the government's intelligence.

A fast recap on Trump's travel ban and Washington state

Trump's first ban temporarily barred citizens from the seven countries from coming to the United States for three months. The order also temporarily shut down the U.S. refugee program for four months and indefinitely banned anyone from Syria.

Federal judge James Robart in Seattle was the one who halted the ban after it caused confusion at airports. Following arguments from the the Washington State Attorney General's Office and the Department of Justice, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Robart's ruling to keep the travel ban blocked.

>> Related: Federal appeals court: Seattle judge's halt on travel ban remains

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson declared victory in defeating Trump's initial travel ban last week when his administration said in a court filing that it will roll out a new one.

>> Related: Wash. AG declares victory in lawsuit against Trump's travel ban

A draft of Trump's revised immigration ban targets the same seven countries listed in his original executive order and exempts travelers who already have a visa to travel to the U.S. It exempts travelers who already have a visa to travel to the U.S., even if they haven't used it yet.

The White House first said the revised order would be issued this week, but now it appears to be next week.

DHS on the report obtained by the AP

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.

"While DHS was asked to draft a comprehensive report on this issue, the document you're referencing was commentary from a single intelligence source versus an official, robust document with thorough interagency sourcing," Christensen said. "The ... report does not include data from other intelligence community sources. It is incomplete."

The Homeland Security report is based on unclassified information from Justice Department press releases on terrorism-related convictions and attackers killed in the act, State Department visa statistics, the 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment from the U.S. intelligence community and the State Department Country Reports on Terrorism 2015.

The three-page report challenges Trump's core claims. It said that of 82 people the government determined were inspired by a foreign terrorist group to carry out or try to carry out an attack in the United States, just over half were U.S. citizens born in the United States. The others were from 26 countries, led by Pakistan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iraq and Uzbekistan. Of these, only Somalia and Iraq were among the seven nations included in the ban.

Of the other five nations, one person each from Iran, Sudan and Yemen was also involved in those terrorism cases, but none from Syria. It did not say if any were Libyan.

The report also found that terrorist organizations in Iran, Libya, Somalia and Sudan are regionally focused, while groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen do pose a threat to the U.S.

The seven countries were included in a law President Barack Obama signed in 2015 that updated visa requirements for foreigners who had traveled to those countries.

Why the report was prepared 

The report was prepared as part of an internal review Trump requested after his executive order was blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was drafted by staff of the Homeland Security Department's Intelligence and Analysis branch at the direction of its acting leader, David Glawe.

White House spokesman Michael Short said this was not the full report that Trump had requested. He said he believes "the intel community is combining resources to put together a comprehensive report using all available sources, not just open sources, and which is driven by data, not politics."

The intelligence document was circulated beyond Homeland Security.

The draft document reflects the tensions between the president's political appointees and the civil servants tasked with carrying out Trump's ambitious and aggressive agenda. Trump has repeatedly complained about leaks meant to undercut his policies and suggested he does not trust holdovers from the Obama administration.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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