Terrorist Exclusion List

Section 411 of the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001 (8 U.S.C. § 1182) authorized the Secretary of State, in consultation with or upon the request of the Attorney General, to designate terrorist organizations for immigration purposes. This authority is known as the “Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL)” authority. A TEL designation bolsters homeland security efforts by facilitating the USG’s ability to exclude aliens associated with entities on the TEL from entering the United States.

Designation Criteria

An organization can be placed on the TEL if the Secretary of State finds that the organization:

• commits or incites to commit, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury, a terrorist activity;
• prepares or plans a terrorist activity;
• gathers information on potential targets for terrorist activity; or
• provides material support to further terrorist activity.

Under the statute, “terrorist activity” means any activity that is unlawful under U.S. law or the laws of the place where it was committed and involves: hijacking or sabotage of an aircraft, vessel, vehicle or other conveyance; hostage taking; a violent attack on an internationally protected person; assassination; or the use of any biological agent, chemical agent, nuclear weapon or device, or explosive, firearm, or other weapon or dangerous device (other than for mere personal monetary gain), with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property. The definition also captures any threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of these activities.

Designation Process

The Secretary of State is authorized to designate groups as TEL organizations in consultation with, or upon the request of the Attorney General. Once an organization of concern is identified, or a request is received from the Attorney General to designate a particular organization, the State Department works closely with the Department of Justice and the intelligence community to prepare a detailed “administrative record,” which is a compilation of information, typically including both classified and open sources information, demonstrating that the statutory criteria for designation have been satisfied. Once completed, the administrative record is sent to the Secretary of State who decides whether to designate the organization. Notices of designations are published in the Federal Register.

Effects of Designation

Legal Ramifications

Individual aliens providing support to or associated with TEL-designated organizations may be found “inadmissable” to the U.S., i.e., such aliens may be prevented from entering the U.S. or, if already in U.S. territory, may in certain circumstances be deported. Examples of activity that may render an alien inadmissible as a result of an organization’s TEL designation include:

• membership in a TEL-designated organization;
• use of the alien’s position of prominence within any country to persuade others to support an organization on the TEL list;
• solicitation of funds or other things of value for an organization on the TEL list;
• solicitation of any individual for membership in an organization on the TEL list; and
• commission of an act that the alien knows, or reasonably should have known, affords material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, transfer of funds or other material for financial benefit, false documentation or identification, weapons (including chemical, biological, or radiological weapons), explosives, or training to an organization on the TEL list.

(It should be noted that individual aliens may also found inadmissible on the basis of other types of terrorist activity unrelated to TEL-designated organizations; see 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B).)

Other Effects

1. Deters donation or contributions to named organizations.
2. Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations.
3. Alerts other governments to U.S. concerns about organizations engaged in
   terrorist activities.
4. Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations.

Terrorist Exclusion List Designees (alphabetical listing)

• Afghan Support Committee (a.k.a. Ahya ul Turas; a.k.a. Jamiat Ayat-ur-Rhas al Islamia; a.k.a. Jamiat Ihya ul Turath al Islamia; a.k.a. Lajnat el Masa Eidatul Afghania)
• Al Taqwa Trade, Property and Industry Company Ltd. (f.k.a. Al Taqwa Trade, Property and Industry; f.k.a. Al Taqwa Trade, Property and Industry Establishment; f.k.a. Himmat Establishment; a.k.a. Waldenberg, AG)
• Al-Hamati Sweets Bakeries
• Al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI)
• Al-Manar
• Al-Ma’unah
• Al-Nur Honey Center
• Al-Rashid Trust
• Al-Shifa Honey Press for Industry and Commerce
• Al-Wafa al-Igatha al-Islamia (a.k.a. Wafa Humanitarian Organization; a.k.a. Al Wafa; a.k.a. Al Wafa Organization)
• Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)
• Anarchist Faction for Overthrow
• Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR) (a.k.a. Interahamwe, Former Armed Forces (EX-FAR))
• Asbat al-Ansar
• Babbar Khalsa International
• Bank Al Taqwa Ltd. (a.k.a. Al Taqwa Bank; a.k.a. Bank Al Taqwa)
• Black Star
• Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) (a.k.a. Continuity Army Council)
• Darkazanli Company
• Dhamat Houmet Daawa Salafia (a.k.a. Group Protectors of Salafist Preaching; a.k.a. Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salifiya; a.k.a. Katibat El Ahoual; a.k.a. Protectors of the Salafist Predication; a.k.a. El-Ahoual Battalion; a.k.a. Katibat El Ahouel; a.k.a. Houmate Ed-Daawa Es-Salafia; a.k.a. the Horror Squadron; a.k.a. Djamaat Houmat Eddawa Essalafia; a.k.a. Djamaatt Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salafiya; a.k.a. Salafist Call Protectors; a.k.a. Djamaat Houmat Ed Daawa Es Salafiya; a.k.a. Houmate el Da’awaa es-Salafiyya; a.k.a. Protectors of the Salafist Call; a.k.a. Houmat ed-Daaoua es-Salafia; a.k.a. Group of Supporters of the Salafiste Trend; a.k.a. Group of Supporters of the Salafist Trend)
• Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (a.k.a. Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party; a.k.a. ETIM; a.k.a. ETIP)
• First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO) (a.k.a. Grupo de Resistencia Anti-Fascista Premero De Octubre)
• Harakat ul Jihad i Islami (HUJI)
• International Sikh Youth Federation
• Islamic Army of Aden
• Islamic Renewal and Reform Organization
• Jamiat al-Ta’awun al-Islamiyya
• Jamiat ul-Mujahideen (JUM)
• Japanese Red Army (JRA)
• Jaysh-e-Mohammed
• Jayshullah
• Jerusalem Warriors
• Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) (a.k.a. Army of the Righteous)
• Libyan Islamic Fighting Group
• Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
• Makhtab al-Khidmat
• Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (a.k.a. GICM; a.k.a. Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain)
• Nada Management Organization (f.k.a. Al Taqwa Management Organization SA)
• New People’s Army (NPA)
• Orange Volunteers (OV)
• People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)
• Red Brigades-Combatant Communist Party (BR-PCC)
• Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
• Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (Pakistan and Afghanistan offices -- Kuwait office not designated) (a.k.a. Jamia Ihya ul Turath; a.k.a. Jamiat Ihia Al- Turath Al-Islamiya; a.k.a. Revival of Islamic Society Heritage on the African Continent)
• Revolutionary Proletarian Nucleus
• Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
• Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
• The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)
• The Islamic International Brigade (a.k.a. International Battalion, a.k.a. Islamic Peacekeeping International Brigade, a.k.a. Peacekeeping Battalion, a.k.a. The International Brigade, a.k.a. The Islamic Peacekeeping Army, a.k.a. The Islamic Peacekeeping Brigade)
• The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
• The Pentagon Gang
• The Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (a.k.a. Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion, a.k.a. Riyadh-as-Saliheen, a.k.a. the Sabotage and Military Surveillance Group of the Riyadh al-Salihin Martyrs, a.k.a. Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Shahids (Martyrs))
• The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (a.k.a. the Islamic Special Purpose Regiment, a.k.a. the al-Jihad-Fisi-Sabililah Special Islamic Regiment, a.k.a. Islamic Regiment of Special Meaning)
• Tunisian Combat Group (a.k.a. GCT, a.k.a. Groupe Combattant Tunisien, a.k.a. Jama’a Combattante Tunisien, a.k.a. JCT; a.k.a. Tunisian Combatant Group)
• Turkish Hizballah
• Ulster Defense Association (a.k.a. Ulster Freedom Fighters)
• Ummah Tameer E-Nau (UTN) (a.k.a. Foundation for Construction; a.k.a. Nation Building; a.k.a. Reconstruction Foundation; a.k.a. Reconstruction of the Islamic Community; a.k.a. Reconstruction of the Muslim Ummah; a.k.a. Ummah Tameer I-Nau; a.k.a. Ummah Tameer E-Nau; a.k.a. Ummah Tameer-I-Pau)
• Youssef M. Nada & Co. Gesellschaft M.B.H.

Groups Delisted from the Terrorist Exclusion List (alphabetical listing)

• Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (a.k.a. CPN(M); a.k.a. the United Revolutionary People’s Council, a.k.a. the People’s Liberation Army of Nepal)