Judge rules American-born woman who joined ISIS not a US citizen

An Alabama woman who traveled to Syria in 2014 to join ISIS is not a U.S. citizen because she was born to a Tunisian father with diplomatic status, a judge ruled Thursday, according to BuzzFeed News.

Hoda Muthana, 24, said she was born in Hackensack, N.J., and left her home in Alabama with her passport in 2014, but the U.S. government argued she should not be considered a citizen under U.S. and international law, which says children of foreign diplomats born in the U.S. are not citizens.

Judge Reggie Walton, a George W. Bush appointee, on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also ruled that Muthana’s father would be subject to charges of providing material support to terrorism if he provided financial support to his daughter and her 2-year-old son.

Christina Jump, Muthana’s attorney, told the publication the defense was still waiting for Walton’s full order but said there was “likely a basis” for an appeal.

Muthana had previously said she wished to return to the U.S. with her son even if it meant criminal charges.

“I was really young and ignorant,” Muthana said in February. “I believe that America gives second chances. I want to return, and I’ll never come back to the Middle East. America can take my passport and I wouldn’t mind.”

The same month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and will not be allowed back into the country, with President Trump tweeting that he had instructed Pompeo not to admit her.