Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion and Removal of Aliens

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) spells out a strict set of admissions criteria and exclusion rules for all foreign nationals who come permanently to the United States as immigrants (i.e., legal permanent residents) or temporarily as nonimmigrants. This report opens with an overview of the grounds for inadmissibility and summarizes key legislation enacted in recent years. Where relevant, the report discusses how recently enacted legislation, including the REAL ID Act, affects these matters. This report also briefly discusses two recent proposals that would modify the terrorism-related provisions of the INA