New York, NY, May 23, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed concern over reports that the Trump Administration is proposing to cut funding entirely to “Countering Violent Extremism” (CVE) programs.

Through the CVE program launched under President Obama, the Department of Homeland Security administered federal grants to nongovernmental organizations and higher-education institutions to carry out programs that counter the potential for violence from “domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists.” ADL stressed that this move is shortsighted.

“From San Bernardino to Orlando to Charleston to Oak Creek, violent extremism is a persistent and imminent threat facing America,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Eliminating the CVE program is dangerously short-sighted, and we urge Congress to maintain this smart investment to keep the American people safe.”

Research from ADL’s Center on Extremism has found that from 2007 to 2016, domestic extremists of all kinds were responsible for the deaths of at least 372 people in the U.S. Seventy-four percent were killed by right-wing extremists -- 24 percent by Islamic extremists and the remainder by left-wing extremists.

In February, ADL voiced its apprehension over such a move that would turn efforts away from fighting right-wing extremism and other purveyors of hate across the ideological spectrum at a time when those groups are experiencing rising membership and expanding influence.

In 2015, the League brought its range of expertise to the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, which consisted of a gathering of experts and leaders from across the world to develop an action plan to address the phenomenon of violent domestic and international extremism.