When Terrorists Come Home: Rehabilitation of America’s Convicted Islamists

The United States Government has prosecuted over 400 Islamist terrorists since 9/11. While several of those convicted will spend the rest of their lives in prison, the overwhelming majority will one day reenter society. Over the next five years, nearly a quarter of the U.S.’s terror convicts will complete their terms of imprisonment. This raises a critical and little examined question regarding U.S. counterterrorism strategy: what is being done in U.S. prisons to prepare this growing and unique segment of the prison population for re-entry into society? What capacity is being built outside prison to reduce the likelihood that they return to violence? How can the Trump administration most effectively respond to this looming problem? Two individuals – through their personal experiences as a former jihadi imprisoned for terrorism related charges and a former counter terrorism official who led the effort to thwart his terrorist aims – will offer policy solutions tailor towards ameliorating this pending and pressing national security threat.