One consequence of the Oklahoma bombing was the 1995 Omnibus Counterterrorism Act, passed in both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. The act was billed as a means to protect Americans from terrorism and, among other things, made it legal to deport noncitizens suspected of terrorist ties, based on secret evidence which does not have to be disclosed. An “alien” could also be deported for making contributions to international charities that the US government deemed to be funders of terrorism. Thus, even though the Oklahoma bombing was carried out by Timothy McVeigh, a homegrown white Christian fundamentalist, Arabs and Muslims were targeted for blame and vigilante violence. It was only a matter of time before another attack on American soil would swing the pendulum toward the confrontationists, opening the door to the “clash of civilizations” and the USA PATRIOT Act.

XREF: Connects to post-9/11 history and USA PATRIOT Act foreshadowing; the author explicitly links the 1995 Act to later events.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 277