About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (February 25, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govespa0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Informing the egrstive dabate since 1914 The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List Congress has shown recurring interest in the administration of the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)-one of several terrorism-related lists that the U.S. government maintains for the purpose of imposing financial sanctions, immigration restrictions, or other penalties in pursuit of law enforcement or national security goals. At various times, Members or committees have sought to add suspected terrorist groups to the FTO list, designate drug cartels and transnational criminal groups as FTOs, or revise legislation to allow other entities to be considered as FTOs. Members at times have considered potential costs of adding groups to the list, including for commerce, diplomacy, and humanitarian operations. Recent Developments. On February 6, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified eight entities as FTOs-the culmination of a process set in motion by Executive Order (E.O.) 14157 of January 20, 2025, on Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (see Table 1). The designation of these entities as FTOs took effect on February 20, 2025, when the designations were published in the Federal Register. On January 22, 2025, President Trump issued E.O. 14175, Designation of Ansar Allah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The order does not immediately designate the group, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as an FTO, but signals the Trump Administration's intention to take such action by March 2025. The first Trump Administration designated the Houthis as an FTO in January 2021-a move the Biden Administration reversed in February 2021. Legislative Origins Congress first established the statutory process for designating FTOs in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA; P.L. 104-132). The AEDPA added a new provision to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Section 219 on the Designation of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (8 U.S.C. §1189). By designating an entity as an FTO, the U.S. government seeks to limit the group's financial, property, and travel interests. Since the law's enactment in April 1996, Congress has amended Section 219 of the INA three times. The amendments modified the criteria for designation and judicial review of a designation, extended the duration of a designation, and established procedures to review an FTO's designation and amend a designation. FTO Desgnaton Criteria Pursuant to Section 219 of the INA, the Secretary of State is authorized to designate an organization as an FTO if such an entity meets three criteria: the suspected terrorist group must (1) be a foreign organization; (2) engage in terrorist activity, terrorism, or retain the capability and intent to Updated February 25, 2025 engage in terrorist activity or terrorism; and (3) threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national defense, foreign relations, or economic interests of the United States. Section 219 of the INA relies on the definition of terrorist activity in Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B)) and the definition of terrorism in Section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (FRAA, P.L. 100-204, as amended; 22 U.S.C. §2656f(d)(2)). The INA and the FRAA definitions place differing emphasis on what might lead to an FTO designation. The INA defines terrorist activity by identifying specific types of illegal or violent actions (hijackings, assassinations, etc.). This definition deemphasizes the ideological motivations or goals of the perpetrators of such activities. However, the FRAA approaches the issue from the motivations of the aggressor and the targets of the violent activity. Terrorism, as defined in the FRAA, is premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents. Consequences of Designaton As a result of an entity's designation as an FTO: * 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, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §2239B. * Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens (non-U.S. nationals) are inadmissible to, and in certain circumstances removable (deportable) from, the United States, pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B)). * 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, pursuant to Section 219(a)(2)(C) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1189(a)(2)(C); 31 C.F.R. Part 597). FTO Revocation Process According to statute, an organization's status as an FTO may be revoked by an act of Congress or by the Secretary of State. Pursuant to Section 219 of the INA, the Secretary is required to revoke the designation if (1) the circumstances that were the basis for the designation have changed in such a manner as to warrant a revocation or (2) the national security of the United States warrants a revocation. An FTO may petition the Secretary to review its designation; the Secretary of State is required to review each FTO's status at least every five years. An FTO also may also seek judicial review regarding its designation.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most