Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Wednesday that the number of Americans joining the Islamic State has declined, from six to ten per month to one or none.
"The number of Americans trying to travel to join the Islamic State has dropped significantly. Two years ago, it was six to ten per month. Now, it is often one or none," Rosenstein said, speaking to law enforcement officers.
Rosenstein relayed information compiled by the FBI, National Security Division, and other intelligence community organizations in his remarks at the 10th Annual Utah National Security and Anti-Terrorism Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference, which began Tuesday, hosted approximately 600 attendees from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Rosenstein thanked both the U.S. military fighting ISIS abroad, and law enforcement officers in the U.S. for the progress.
"A great deal of the credit for that decrease belongs to our military, which has fought ISIS and other Islamic extremists on the battlefield. People are less inclined to join a losing cause. And much of the credit also goes to law enforcement officers, for proactive policing that keeps us safe," he said.
He nevertheless cautioned the assembled law enforcement officers to be wary of the domestic terrorism threat posed by the collapse of ISIS.
"The decline in the number of Americans who seek to travel to join ISIS is a positive development. But a word of caution is in order: some people who would have left America now pose a danger here instead," Rosenstein said. "Some foreign fighters have left ISIS territory to find new battlefields and new targets. Others have returned to their home countries. Returning foreign fighters can present significant security risks because of their ideology, combat training, and connections to terrorist networks."
Under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Department of Justice has prioritized the prosecution of those who join ISIS, or otherwise provide it aid and comfort. The department has filed charges for terrorism-related offenses against more than 145 foreign fighters, homegrown extremists, and ISIS supporters, according to Rosenstein. The FBI has ongoing investigations in all 50 states.
Most recently, a New York man was returned to the United States and charged Tuesday after he attempted to travel to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria from Saudi Arabia.