Trump Says American-Born Woman Who Joined ISIS Has No Right to Return

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that he will not allow a woman born in the United States who joined the Islamic State group in Syria to return to America, claiming she is no longer a citizen of the country. The woman's lawyer has rejected Trump's statements. Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, said on February 19 that Hoda Muthana, who is currently in a refugee camp in Syria with her young child, has no legal documentation to prove her claim of U.S. citizenship. He stated, 'She has no legal documents, does not have an American passport, does not have the right to obtain a passport, and does not have a visa to travel to the United States.' However, Pompeo's statements did not provide details on why it has been determined that this woman is not a U.S. citizen. Muthana, 24, was born in New Jersey, in the northeastern United States. Trump mentioned that he directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to prevent Muthana's return: 'I asked Mike Pompeo to [prevent her return], and he completely agreed with me that Hoda Muthana should not be allowed to return to the country.' On the other hand, Hassan Shibli, Muthana's lawyer, stated that this woman, who was born in America, lived in Alabama, and had a legal passport before joining the Islamic State group in 2014. According to Shibli, this 24-year-old woman has distanced herself from ISIS and intends to return to her hometown to care for and raise her son, accepting whatever legal consequences await her. Shibli added that Muthana's father, a Yemeni diplomat, had resigned from his position months before his daughter was born; under the law, children of diplomats do not automatically acquire citizenship. Shibli said, 'When someone breaks the law, we have a judicial mechanism to deal with lawbreakers and hold them accountable, and that is all she (Muthana) has requested.' The issue of foreign citizens detained or those who have separated from ISIS in Iraq and Syria has become a challenge for some countries. Recently, Trump himself asked U.S. European allies to 'take back' over 800 detained ISIS members in Syria and prosecute them in their own countries. The U.S. President tweeted, 'The caliphate (Islamic State group) is on the verge of collapse. The other option is not very good, and that is that we will have to leave them.' Many European countries have yet to make a clear decision regarding the return of ISIS members or remain opposed to it. According to the European Commission, between 2011 and 2016, a total of 42,000 people joined ISIS, nearly 5,000 of whom are European citizens. According to data published by the 'International Institute for the Study of Political Violence and Extremism' in 2015, over a hundred American citizens have joined ISIS.