The Atlantic

Trump's Immigration Order Is a Propaganda Victory for ISIS

The American president has reinforced the victimhood narrative at the core of the Islamic State’s recruitment pitch.
Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump handed the Islamic State and its likeminded rivals a symbolic victory when he announced he would immediately suspend immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations. By stopping the citizens of Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran from entering the United States for 90 days, and from Syria indefinitely, the new American president worked wonders for salafi-jihadist ideologues the world over.

Citing, on Sunday, the “” of Europe as his justification for the policy—which out in protest at and around the world—Trump’s can be summarized as follows: By stopping citizens of countries that are “sources of terror” from entering into the United States of America, he will reduce the threat presented by “infiltration by foreign terrorists.” (It’s worth noting, as the New America Foundation , that “every jihadist who conducted a lethal attack inside the United States since 9/11 was a citizen or legal resident.”) In any case, reaffirming his position in a posted to Facebook on Sunday, Trump contended that “this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”

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