Minnesota Leads in Terrorist Recruits, Lags in Driver's License Security

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Oct 05, 2015, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Minnesota leads the states in the number of foreign fighters recruited to Iraq and Syria, according to a bipartisan Congressional report released last week. The Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel reported that 26% of foreign fighters recruited from the U.S. were from Minnesota. At the same time, Minnesota legislators are debating whether to implement the REAL ID Act, a 2005 antiterrorism law aimed at making it more difficult for terrorists to travel undetected with fraudulently obtained driver's licenses.

Brian Zimmer, President of Keeping IDentities Safe stated, "The fact that Minnesota is first on exporting foreign fighters and one of the last on REAL ID illustrates Minnesota legislators' lack of understanding the link between terrorism and fraudulently obtained driver's licenses. Violent organizations like Islamic State continue to seek out identity documents from vulnerable sources like Minnesota. An Islamic State guidebook even instructs undercover terrorists in the West to obtain fake IDs to rent cars, hide their identities, and escape after their attacks. Terrorists will continue to use identification to disguise their intent to carry out attacks on this country. The goal of the REAL ID Act is to close this vulnerability. Minnesota should join the fifty one other jurisdictions moving forward with REAL ID before the end of 2015."

About Keeping IDentities Safe:
Keeping IDentities Safe is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, not for profit, crime prevention education public charity, supported by donor contributions from across the United States. Its slogan, "Working to protect the identity of every American", embodies its commitment to higher standards for both government and private entities that issue identity credentials, especially state agencies that issue driver's licenses and ID cards. Keeping IDentities Safe is a member of the Document Security Alliance and of the American National Standards Institute.

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