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U.S. block entry at border via 'ideological exclusion' policy

The ACLU and NYCLU obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in coordination with PEN American Center and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Although the documents are heavily redacted, the records suggest that the government used the ideological exclusion provision to exclude from the country, among others, an Italian woman residing in Colombia, a mother and daughter residing in Canada, a businessman from Venezuela, and a woman from Costa Rica. The names of the individuals have been redacted.

The ideological exclusion provision permits the government to exclude anyone from the country who, in the government’s view, "endorses or espouses" terrorism or "persuades others" to support terrorism. While the provision is nominally directed at terrorism, the government appears to be using the provision to censor and manipulate debate, said the ACLU.

Other documents released through the FOIA confirm that the Departments of State and Homeland Security are interpreting the law broadly. One document states that the law is directed at those who voice "irresponsible expressions of opinion." Another states, somewhat bizarrely, that an individual can be excluded under the provision even if he or she endorsed terrorism unintentionally.