Pursuant to Section 219 of the INA, the Secretary of State is authorized to designate an organization as an FTO if such an entity meets three criteria: the suspected terrorist group must (1) be a foreign organization; (2) engage in "terrorist activity," "terrorism," or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism; and (3) threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national defense, foreign relations, or economic interests of the United States.
Section 219 of the INA relies on the definition of "terrorist activity" in Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B)) and the definition of "terrorism" in Section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (FRAA, P.L. 100-204, as amended; 22 U.S.C. §2656f(d)(2)).
