Alex Nowrasteh
Published: 2023
Total Pages: 0
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From 1975 through 2022, the average chance of dying in an attack committed by a foreign-born terrorist on U.S. soil was 1 in 4,338,984 a year, and the chance of being injured was about 1 in 773,938. This policy analysis examines the past, so it does not project future trends in foreign-born terrorism, which could be quite different going forward. Nonetheless, the past is the best guide to understanding what could happen with foreign-born terrorism in the coming years. There are several lessons for policymakers. First, relative to other risks and the absolute danger posed by foreign-born terrorism, the federal government likely spends too many resources on reducing the threat of foreign-born terrorism. Second, the threat posed by foreign-born terrorism is not a good reason to reduce immigration to the United States because the costs of such a policy would exceed the benefits from the inflow of immigrants and their substantial contributions to the U.S. economy and society. Third, illegal immigrants are not a significant terrorist threat; there were only nine terrorists who were illegal immigrants and they killed or injured zero people over the entire 48-year period analyzed here. Fourth, the threat of foreign-born terrorism has diminished in recent years.