On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a controversial executive order that suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the U.S. for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The ban has sparked outrage, fear and protests across America and the globe. Some have also called into question its legality, pointing to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin. On Saturday, federal judges in New York and Boston barred officials from deporting some refugees who found themselves affected by Trump’s order in the midst of traveling.
According to the order as supplied by the White House, the ban aims to “protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States.”
“Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001,” the order states. “The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.”
According to the order, a waiver may be granted on a case-by-case basis by both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security and may be granted for those who are “a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution” as long as they don’t pose a security risk to the U.S. Before signing his executive order, Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network that Christian refugees from Syria should be given priority treatment when entering the U.S. over Muslims.
According to the Washington Post and Bloomberg, Trump’s ban did not include any of the Muslim-majority countries where the Trump Organization — which is now being run by his sons — holds business interests. Those countries reportedly include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, the U.A.E. and Azerbaijan.
Here’s a look back at the major terrorist attacks that have taken place on U.S. soil since 9/11, including the nationalities of the perpetrator, or perpetrators.
Of this list, zero fatal attacks were carried out by immigrants from the seven Muslim-majority countries targeted by the ban. Two attacks were carried out by individuals with ties to the seven countries: the 2006 UNC SUV attack, and the 2016 Ohio State University attack. Neither of those plots resulted in American deaths.
9/11 attacks:
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 militants hijacked four commercial airlines to carry out terrorist attacks on the U.S. that killed 2,996 people and wounded more than 6,000 others. The 19 men were associated with al-Qaeda, a decentralized terrorist network, at the time led by Osama bin Laden.
Of the 19 hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt and one from Lebanon.
2001 anthrax attacks:
Anonymous letters laced with deadly anthrax spores began arriving at media companies and congressional offices, killing five people and infecting 17 others. The FBI concluded Bruce Ivins, a top biodefense researcher, was the key suspect for the attacks, although he was never charged with any crime. Ivins was American.
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