US says Alabama woman who joined Islamic State can’t return

WASHINGTON (AP) -President Donald Trump is taking credit for the State Department’s announcement Wednesday that an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria will not be allowed to re-enter the U.S.

Trump tweets: “I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!”

Pompeo announced on Wednesday that Muthana won’t be allowed to enter the country with her toddler son because she is not an American citizen, a claim that was challenged by her lawyer.

Muthana is now in a refugee camp in Syria along with others who fled the Islamic State, and says she made a mistake in joining the group.

Pompeo said she has no “legal basis” to claim American citizenship. But her lawyer says the administration’s position is based on a “complicated” interpretation of immigration law.

Pompeo says Hoda Muthana does not have a U.S. passport or any legal basis to enter the country.

He said on Wednesday in a statement that she “will not be admitted to the United States.”

The 24-year old who joined the Islamic State after becoming radicalized says she regrets aligning herself with the terrorist organization and wants to return to the United States with her 18-month-old son.

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