Donald Trump bars IS woman from returning to US
Hoda Muthana's lawyer says she is "stupid" and "naive" and was "brainwashed" into joining Islamic State.
Thursday 21 February 2019 11:46, UK
A woman from Alabama who joined Islamic State will not be allowed back into America, Donald Trump has said.
That is despite the US president saying that Britain and other European countries should repatriate more than 800 Islamic State fighters captured in Syria and put them on trial.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Hoda Muthana, 24, was "not a US citizen" and would "not be admitted into the United States".
Mr Pompeo added: "She does not have any legal basis, no valid US passport, no right to a passport nor any visa to travel to the United States."
Ms Muthana is currently living with her 18-month-old son in a refugee camp in Syria.
Her lawyer, Hassan Shibly, said she was a "stupid, naive, young dumb woman" who had been "brainwashed" by IS.
She was born in the US and held a valid passport before joining IS in 2014, he said.
In a handwritten letter, Ms Muthana said joining the terror group had been a "big mistake".
Mr Trump tweeted: "I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the country!"
It follows Home Secretary Sajid Javid's decision to revoke the citizenship of British IS bride Shamima Begum.
Mr Shibly said the administration was arguing that Ms Muthana did not qualify for citizenship because her father was a Yemeni diplomat.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, someone born in the United States to an accredited foreign diplomatic officer is not automatically considered to be a US citizen at birth and is not subject to US law.
But he said her father had not had diplomatic status "for months" prior to her birth in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Ms Muthana was an American and "Americans break the law", Mr Shibly said, adding: "When people break the law, we have a legal system to handle those kinds of situations to hold people accountable, and that's all she's asking for."
Ms Muthana said in her letter: "During my years in Syria I would see and experience a way of life and the terrible effects of war which changed me.
"To say that I regret my past words, any pain that I caused my family and any concerns I would cause my country would be hard for me to really express properly."
A US official said Ms Muthana's case had been considered by lawyers from the State and Justice departments.