XI. Protect Innocent Victims of Persecution Abroad from Being Defined as Terrorists

The United States will never be able to effectively fight terrorism if it cannot define terrorism appropriately. Yet for the past several years, overbroad terrorism-related bars in immigration law have been used to label victims of abuse abroad as terrorists and deny them entry into the United States. Rape victims forced into sexual slavery by West African rebel groups have been labeled "material supporters" of terrorism because they performed household chores while enslaved. Iraqis who fought against Saddam Hussein and Afghans who fought against the Soviets are now being defined as terrorists solely because they took up arms-often in self-defense.

Legislation passed in December 2007, which was sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy and Jon Kyl, gave the executive branch the discretion to waive most of these bars, and avoid the unintended consequences of the overbroad definition of terrorism. But the Bush administration has been painfully slow in exercising this discretion, and hundreds of deserving asylum seekers and thousands of formerly admitted men, women, and children who have applied to begin the process of naturalizing as American citizens have been told that their cases are on indefinite hold.

President Obama should take immediate steps to exercise his discretion responsibly and to work with Congress to codify a narrow and sensible definition of terrorism in US law. Specifically, the new administration should:

(1)Protect victims of terror by ensuring that those forced against their will to provide food, water, shelter, or other support to a terrorist group are no longer defined as "material supporters" of terrorism and barred entry into the United States.

(2)Ensure that members of resistance groups that have not targeted civilians­­-such as those organized against Saddam Hussein-are no longer defined as "terrorists" and barred entry to the United States.

(3)Establish a process so that individuals subject to deportation orders based on these bars have a chance to apply for-and present evidence in support of-a discretionary waiver of these bars.  

(4)Work with Congress to amend the definition of "terrorist activity" and "terrorist organization" in immigration law so that victims of terror are no longer defined as terrorists and groups of two or more people are no longer defined as "terrorist organizations" simply because they have borne arms.