3 Out of 4 Convicted Terrorists in US Are Foreign-Born: Report

Merit-based immigration system would increase assimilation, reduce risks to US, says administration official

NYPD officers respond to an explosion at the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York on Dec. 11, 2017. Akayed Ullah, a Bangladeshi national who entered the United States on a visa obtained through extended family migration, is in custody for the attempted terror attack. BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

WASHINGTON—A new joint report by the Justice Department and Homeland Security has revealed that 549 individuals were convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between 9/11 and the end of 2016.

Most individuals (73 percent) were foreign-born. Of the 549 convicted, 254 were not U.S. citizens, 148 were foreign-born and subsequently received U.S. citizenship, and 147 were U.S. citizens by birth.