Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.
Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Date Designated | Name |
---|---|
December 1, 2021 | Segunda Marquetalia |
December 1, 2021 | Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) |
March 11, 2021 | ISIS-DRC |
March 11, 2021 | ISIS-Mozambique |
January 14, 2021 | Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASM) |
January 10, 2020 | Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) |
April 15, 2019 | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) |
September 6, 2018 | Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) |
July 11, 2018 | al-Ashtar Brigades |
May 23, 2018 | ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS) |
February 28, 2018 | ISIS-West Africa |
February 28, 2018 | ISIS-Philippines |
February 28, 2018 | ISIS-Bangladesh |
August 17, 2017 | Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) |
July 1, 2016 | al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) |
May 20, 2016 | ISIS-Libya |
January 14, 2016 | Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) |
September 30, 2015 | Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi (JRTN) |
May 15, 2014 | al-Nusrah Front, aka Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (ANF/HTS) — Jabhat Fath al-Sham Amendment (November 14, 2016) — Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham Amendment (June 1, 2018) |
April 10, 2014 | ISIS-Sinai Province (formerly Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis) — ISIL Sinai Province Amendment (September 30, 2015) |
January 13, 2014 | Ansar al-Shari’a in Benghazi |
January 13, 2014 | Ansar al-Shari’a in Darnah |
January 13, 2014 | Ansar al-Shari’a in Tunisia |
December 19, 2013 | al-Mulathamun Battalion, aka al-Murabitoun |
November 14, 2013 | Ansaru |
November 14, 2013 | Boko Haram |
March 22, 2013 | Ansar al-Dine (AAD) |
September 19, 2012 | Haqqani Network (HQN) |
May 30, 2012 | Abdallah Azzam Brigades — Marwan Hadid Brigades Amendment (November 2, 2017) |
March 13, 2012 | Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT) |
September 19, 2011 | Indian Mujahedeen (IM) |
May 23, 2011 | Army of Islam (AOI) |
November 4, 2010 | Jaysh al-Adl (formerly Jundallah) — Jaysh al-Adl Amendment (July 2, 2019) |
September 1, 2010 | Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) |
August 6, 2010 | Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI) |
January 19, 2010 | al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — Ansar al-Shari’a Amendment (October 5, 2012) |
July 2, 2009 | Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) |
May 18, 2009 | Revolutionary Struggle (RS) |
March 18, 2008 | al-Shabaab — al-Hijra Amendment (August 1, 2018) |
March 5, 2008 | Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B) |
June 17, 2005 | Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) |
December 17, 2004 | ISIS (formerly al-Qa’ida in Iraq) — Islamic State of Iraq Amendment (January 26, 2012) — al-Hayat Media Center and Amaq News Agency Amendments (March 22, 2019) |
July 13, 2004 | Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) |
March 22, 2004 | Ansar al-Islam (AAI) |
January 30, 2003 | Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ) |
October 23, 2002 | Jemaah Islamiya (JI) |
August 9, 2002 | Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) |
March 27, 2002 | al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly Salafist Group for Call and Combat) — AQIM Amendment (February 20, 2008) |
March 27, 2002 | Asbat al-Ansar (AAA) |
March 27, 2002 | Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB) |
December 26, 2001 | Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) — Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, and Al-Anfal Trust Amendments (June 26, 2014) — Al Muhammadia Students Amendment (December 30, 2016) — Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir and Milli Muslim League Amendments (April 4, 2018) |
December 26, 2001 | Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) |
May 16, 2001 | New Irish Republican Army (formerly Real IRA) — New IRA Amendment (June 30, 2023) |
September 25, 2000 | Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) |
October 8, 1999 | al-Qa’ida (AQ) |
October 8, 1997 | Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) |
October 8, 1997 | HAMAS |
October 8, 1997 | Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) — Ansar ul-Ummah Amendment (August 8, 2014) |
October 8, 1997 | Hizballah |
October 8, 1997 | Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) |
October 8, 1997 | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) |
October 8, 1997 | National Liberation Army (ELN) |
October 8, 1997 | Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) |
October 8, 1997 | Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) |
October 8, 1997 | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) |
October 8, 1997 | PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC) |
October 8, 1997 | Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) |
October 8, 1997 | Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL) |
Delisted Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Date Removed | Name | Date Originally Designated |
---|---|---|
May 20, 2022 | Aum Shinrikyo (AUM) | October 8, 1997 |
May 20, 2022 | Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) | October 8, 1997 |
May 20, 2022 | Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group – IG) | October 8, 1997 |
May 20, 2022 | Kahane Chai (Kach) | October 8, 1997 |
May 20, 2022 | Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) | August 20, 2014 |
December 1, 2021 | Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) | October 8, 1997 |
February 16, 2021 | Ansarallah | January 19, 2021 |
June 1, 2017 | Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) | October 8, 1997 |
December 9, 2015 | Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) | December 17, 2004 |
September 3, 2015 | Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N) | October 8, 1997 |
July 15, 2014 | United Self Defense Forces of Colombia | September 10, 2001 |
May 28, 2013 | Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) | October 11, 2005 |
September 28, 2012 | Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) | October 8, 1997 |
October 15, 2010 | Armed Islamic Group (GIA) | October 8, 1997 |
May 18, 2009 | Revolutionary Nuclei | October 8, 1997 |
October 8, 2001 | Tupac Amaru Revolution Movement | October 8, 1997 |
October 8, 2001 | Japanese Red Army | October 8, 1997 |
October 8, 1999 | Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front Dissidents | October 8, 1997 |
October 8, 1999 | Khmer Rouge | October 8, 1997 |
October 8, 1999 | Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine -Hawatmeh Faction | October 8, 1997 |
Identification
The Bureau of Counterterrorism in the State Department (CT) continually monitors the activities of terrorist groups active around the world to identify potential targets for designation. When reviewing potential targets, CT looks not only at the actual terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of terrorism or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts.
Designation
Once a target is identified, CT prepares 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. If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, decides to make the designation, Congress is notified of the Secretary’s intent to designate the organization and given seven days to review the designation, as the INA requires. Upon the expiration of the seven-day waiting period and in the absence of Congressional action to block the designation, notice of the designation is published in the Federal Register, at which point the designation takes effect. By law an organization designated as an FTO may seek judicial review of the designation in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit not later than 30 days after the designation is published in the Federal Register.
Until recently the INA provided that FTOs must be redesignated every 2 years or the designation would lapse. Under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), however, the redesignation requirement was replaced by certain review and revocation procedures. IRTPA provides that an FTO may file a petition for revocation 2 years after its designation date (or in the case of redesignated FTOs, its most recent redesignation date) or 2 years after the determination date on its most recent petition for revocation. In order to provide a basis for revocation, the petitioning FTO must provide evidence that the circumstances forming the basis for the designation are sufficiently different as to warrant revocation. If no such review has been conducted during a 5 year period with respect to a designation, then the Secretary of State is required to review the designation to determine whether revocation would be appropriate. In addition, the Secretary of State may at any time revoke a designation upon a finding that the circumstances forming the basis for the designation have changed in such a manner as to warrant revocation, or that the national security of the United States warrants a revocation. The same procedural requirements apply to revocations made by the Secretary of State as apply to designations. A designation may be revoked by an Act of Congress, or set aside by a Court order.
Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended
- It must be a foreign organization.
- The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
- The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.
Legal Ramifications of Designation
- It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to a designated FTO. (The term “material support or resources” is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1) as ” any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who maybe or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(2) provides that for these purposes “the term ‘training’ means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(3) further provides that for these purposes the term ‘expert advice or assistance’ means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.’’
- Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States (see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IV)-(V), 1227 (a)(1)(A)).
- Any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Other Effects of Designation
- Supports our efforts to curb terrorism financing and to encourage other nations to do the same.
- Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations internationally.
- Deters donations or contributions to and economic transactions with named organizations.
- Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations.
- Signals to other governments our concern about named organizations.
Revocations of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
The Immigration and Nationality Act sets out three possible basis for revoking a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation:
- The Secretary of State must revoke a designation if the Secretary finds that the circumstances that were the basis of the designation have changed in such a manner as to warrant a revocation;
- The Secretary of State must revoke a designation if the Secretary finds that the national security of the United States warrants a revocation;
- The Secretary of State may revoke a designation at any time.
Any revocation shall take effect on the date specified in the revocation or upon publication in the Federal Register if no effective date is specified. The revocation of a designation shall not affect any action or proceeding based on conduct committed prior to the effective date of such revocation.