It's crazy, but I just found this and Ilhan Omar is part of this community and has aided poor, misunderstood border crossers from the US to Mexico so they could go lend a helping hand to terrorists in the Middle East:
In one case, Zakaria Maruf, was known for some time as a member of the local Somali Hot Boyz gang. Yet he is reported to have become deeply religious after abandoning the street life, and around 2008 is alleged to have fled abroad. He was killed in Somalia the following year.
ISIS RECRUITMENT DRIVE IN SOMALIA COULD PROVE 'MASSIVE THREAT TO THE US PRESENCE' IN THE REGION
As for Omar, she spoke up for a group of six Somalis arrested in 2015 for trying to cross into Mexico, as part of a plan to join ISIS in Syria. As the case went to trial the following year, the then-state representative wrote a letter to the trial judge requesting “compassion” - and lighter sentencing on behalf of one of the Minnesota men, who was facing 30 years jail time.
“Such punitive measures not only lack efficacy, they inevitably create an environment in which extremism can flourish, aligning with the presupposition of terrorist recruitment,” Omar wrote. “The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion. We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to affect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation.”
Her position has been slammed by those who say she hasn't taken a tough enough stand.
“Rep. Omar is asking for our justice system to support known terrorists, this sets an extremely poor precedence and should not be allowed,” contended Rudolph Atallah, chief executive officer of White Mountain Research, and former Africa Counterterrorism in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “She clearly has a bias and an agenda and does not understand what the United States truly stands for.”
ILHAN OMAR ONCE BLAMED 'OUR INVOLVEMENT IN OTHER PEOPLE'S AFFAIRS' AFTER AL-SHABAB ATTACK ON KENYAN MALL
Omar has also been criticized by others in her community who contend her plea didn’t go far enough.
“A lot of people were disappointed, they felt she could have done more,” one Minneapolis local noted, arguing the boys had been coerced into making final arrangements to flee abroad by FBI informants, and would never have gone that far without encouragement.
Omar's office did not respond to a request for further comment.
Meanwhile, authorities have pushed back against the argument the Somalis arrested crossing into Mexico wouldn't have done so without the FBI involvement. Officials also said they repeatedly met with the families of the suspects, cautioning parents about their children's plans - to no avail.
“We would go out and interview people, try for an intervention, and really try to stop those people from going. But they were determined to go. They were committed. We tried to stop and could not,” one source said. “We had to prosecute to stop them from going.”
While Daud ended up with the 30-year sentence, others charged with similar offenses have since been more fortunate. In November 2016, a Minnesota judge gave 21-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf an unprecedented opportunity to avoid jail time by undergoing experimental “
rehabilitation,” after having pled guilty in 2014 to purporting to join ISIS.