Ellison: It’s ‘Ineffective’ to Target One Community for Surveillance

Rep. Keith Ellison is pushing back against calls from Rep. Peter King (R-NY) to focus surveillance efforts on the Muslim community.

King, who chairs the House subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, argued in the National Review that police have to build up sources in the community and increase surveillance there. The magazine quoted him as saying:

We can’t be bound by political correctness. … I think we need more police and more surveillance in the communities where the threat is coming from, whether it’s the Irish community with the Westies [an Irish-American gang in New York City], or the Italian community with the mafia, or the Muslim community with the Islamic terrorists.

On Meet The Press Sunday, Ellison countered that focusing on one community ignores threats coming from other communities. The Muslim congressman said:

I'm an American, and I'm concerned about national safety and public safety just like everyone is. But I think it’s ineffective law enforcement to go after a particular community. I think what we need to do is look at behavior and follow those leads where they would lead. ... This ricin attack, for example: That's an act of terrorism that doesn't come out of the Muslim community. We don’t have enough law enforcement resources to just go after one community, and remember we went after a community in World War II and Japanese internment is a national stain on our country and we are still apologizing for it."

Remittances

Ellison, fellow Minnesota Congressman Rep. Erik Paulsen and Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy reintroduced the Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2013 to make it easier for Somali-Americans to send money to their countries of origin, according to a news release.

Somali money-transfer businesses in Minnesota, known as hawalas, have shut down in the past because the bank that oversaw the transactions worried it might unintentionally break laws that prohibit sending money to terrorist groups. U.S. Bank announced earlier this month that it had come to an arrangement with money service business Dahab-shil to process the transactions.

Ellison said that brought increased attention on the issue of remittances.

“For years, families in Minnesota have had trouble sending much-needed assistance to their relatives outside the country,” the release quoted the Democratic congressman. “After suffering from drought and famine, these remittances are often the difference between life and death for Somalis. This bill would make it easier for Minnesota families to send money home, and I am proud to work with members of both parties to get it passed.”

Under current law, money service businesses have both state and federal regulatory process to go through. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Ellison and two Republicans, aims to avoid duplication and increase coordination between state and federal agencies.