Early DHS intelligence report on Trump's travel ban contradicts White House reasoning

The Department of Homeland Security was apparently unable to find sufficient evidence to back President Trump's claim that his immigration executive order banning people from certain countries from entering the U.S. could protect the nation from terrorist threats, The Associated Press reported Friday, citing a draft document prepared by DHS analysts.

The report suggests that assessments of the seven predominantly Muslim countries included in Trump's travel ban found that "few people" from those countries "have carried out attacks or been involved in terrorism-related activities in the U.S. since Syria's civil war started in 2011," The Associated Press reported. Moreover, the draft document concluded, "country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity."

The Associated Press noted Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen did not "dispute the report's authenticity," but said it "was not a final comprehensive review of the government's intelligence."

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Trump's ban is presently blocked by the courts, but he has vowed to introduce a second executive order on the issue.