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Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)

The Foreign Terrorist Organization List
Congress has shown recurring interest in the administration
of the State Department's FTO list and its application to
groups that the U.S. government considers to be
undertaking terrorism-related activities.
The State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) is
responsible for identifying entities for designation as an
FTO. Prior to doing so, the Department is obligated to
demonstrate that the entity in question engages in terrorist
activity, as defined in Section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in Section
140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act
(FRAA), Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (FRAA) (22 U.S.C.
§2656f(d)(2)), or retains the capability and intent to engage
in terrorist activity or terrorism. When assessing entities for
possible designation, CT looks not only at the actual
terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at
whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations
for possible future acts of terrorism or retains the capability
and intent to carry out such acts.
Terrorist activity, as found in the INA, specifically focuses
on many types of violent activities or terrorist support
efforts that could affect U.S. security interests. This
definition does not address the motivations or goals of the
perpetrators of the attack. However, the second aspect of
these criteria for FTO designation, terrorism, as provided
in the FRAA, approaches the issue from the motivations of
the aggressor and the targets of the violent activity. The
FRAA defines terrorism as premeditated, politically
motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant
targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.
FTO Designation Criteria
Entities placed on the FTO list are suspected of engaging in
terrorism-related activities. By designating an entity as an
FTO, the United States seeks to limit the group's financial,
property, and travel interests. Per Section 219 of the INA,
as amended via Section 302 of the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the Secretary of State
must demonstrate that the entity of concern has met the
three criteria to allow the Department to designate it as an
FTO. The suspected terrorist group must
* be a foreign organization,
* engage in or retain the capability and intent to engage in
terrorism, and
* threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national
defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests of
the United States.

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Updated November 2, 2022

mnsequences of Designation
It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly
provide material support or resources to a designated
FTO.

* Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if
they are aliens, are inadmissible to, and in certain
circumstances removable from, the United States.
* The Secretary of the Treasury may require U.S.
financial institutions possessing or controlling any assets
of a designated FTO to block all transactions involving
those assets.
FTO designation further
* supports U.S. efforts to curb terrorism financing and to
encourage other nations to do the same;
* stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist
organizations internationally;
 deters donations or contributions to and economic
transactions with named organizations;
* heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist
organizations; and
* signals to other governments U.S. concern about named
organizations.
FTO Revocation Process
The INA sets out three possible bases for revoking an FTO
designation:
* The Secretary of State must revoke a designation if the
Secretary finds that the circumstances that were the
basis of the designation have changed in such a manner
as to warrant a revocation.
* The Secretary of State must revoke a designation if the
Secretary finds that the national security of the United
States warrants a revocation.
* The Secretary of State may revoke a designation at any
time.
Since its inception, numerous entities have been placed on
and removed from the FTO list. Found below is a list of the
entities currently designated as FTOs and groups that have
been delisted.

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