Alabama Woman Who Joined ISIS Not U.S. Citizen: Judge

WASHINGTON, DC — An Alabama native who joined ISIS will not be granted a return to her home state, according to a Fox News report. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the family of Hoda Muthana, filed in an effort to get Muthana admitted back into the U.S.

Muthana, 25, is originally from Hoover, but currently lives with her 2-year-old son in a refugee camp in Syria. More than four years have passed since Muthana left Birmingham to join the Islamic State in Syria. Expressing regret for her decision, Muthana said she wanted to return to Alabama, knowing that doing so would likely mean facing charges.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in February Muthana is not a U.S. citizen and does not have a valid visa to come back to the country. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton this week agreed. Walton also ruled that Muthana's father, Ahmed Ali Muthana, could not provide financial support to his daughter or grandson without being subject to charges of providing material support of terrorism, according to the Fox News report.

Muthana, whose family is Muslim but does not agree with the extreme views of ISIS, began delving more into jihadist interpretations of Islam that she found on the Internet after she graduated from Hoover High School and started college at UAB, according to an article published on BuzzFeed.

"While we are disappointed with and disagree with the court’s ruling today, this is not the end of our client’s legal options," said Muthana family attorney Christina Jump.