Al Franken in The Washington Times

On Homeland Security: Worked since 2009 on fighting ISIS recruitment in Minn

Mike McFadden, the Republican, has accused Democratic incumbent Sen. Al Franken of failing to stop Minnesota from becoming a recruiting ground for extremists, [including] the Islamic State, Somalia-based Al Shabab and other Islamist organizations aimed at Minnesota immigrant young people.

Franken counters that he's been on top of the issue for years: "In 2009, we knew that Shabab in Somalia was beginning to recruit from our communities. The first days I was in office I went to the FBI and got a briefing," he said during a debate last week "I have worked with law enforcement. I pressed the secretary of Homeland Security. I pressed the director of the FBI in [Senate Judiciary Committee] hearings on this recruitment."

It is estimated that anywhere between 20 and 40 Minnesotans recruited from the state's sizable Somalian emigre population have left the U.S. and joined the Al Shabab terror network since 2008, and another 10 or 12 have joined ISIS.

Source: Washington Times on 2014 Minnesota Senate debate Oct 8, 2014

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Page last updated: Sep 18, 2022