How Trump's Immigration Initiative 'Plays Into Daesh's Agenda'

The controversial document "does play into the agenda" of terrorist organizations like Daesh that are trying to appeal to "those who could be vulnerable to recruitment," the expert said. "It does create the big bad superpower [image] in the eyes of those who are susceptible to recruitment which could backfire."

The executive order, formally known as "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States," was unveiled on January 27. The document is ostensibly meant to protect Americans from terrorist attacks committed by foreign nationals legally admitted to the US by making the visa-issuance process more rigorous. It has blocked all refugees from coming to the US for 120 days, indefinitely suspended entry for Syrian refugees and restricted immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

On February 4, key parts of the executive order were blocked after the state of Washington filed a legal challenge. On February 9, the ninth circuit court of appeals upheld the temporary restraining order.

"A lot of the theory behind [this initiative] does work" because the countries on the list "do not have the capabilities within their own intelligence networks to be able to assist with the enhanced level of screening to ensure that those traveling to the US" do not represent a risk, the security expert explained.

Geddes further said that the measure was "in theory probably not a bad idea," but the way it was implemented was "shockingly bad" since many port of entries were unprepared to enforce it. He also pointed out that terrorists are likely to "adjust, adept and overcome various blocks and restrictions that are in place."

Geddes' comments came in response to the latest report released by the Homeland Security Committee which warned that the ongoing campaigns aimed at defeating foreign terror groups may result in more attacks in the West, including in the United States. The document, titled "Terror Threat Snapshot," linked the unprecedented spike in the threat of terrorism in the US to the rise of Daesh, adding that potential attacks are most likely to be carried out by so-called lone wolves and homegrown terrorists retuning from Iraq, Syria and Somalia.

The security expert described the report as "a bit of fan faring in terms of potential risks," saying that it appears to be "more alarmist" that the way he sees the situation.

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