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Hundreds Held in Anti-Gang Crackdown
Los Angeles Times
Aug 2 2005
A recent U.S. initiative netted 582 arrests last month, 26 in Los
Angeles. Most suspects could be deported as illegal immigrants.
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - Law enforcement authorities arrested 582 alleged
gang members and associates, most of whom could be deported for
immigration violations, in a two-week period last month, Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Monday.
Twenty-six of the arrests were made in Los Angeles.
"Many gang members come to this country from overseas, or from other
parts of the North and South American continent, which means that they
are subject to our immigration laws," Chertoff told a news conference
at the headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "When
they violate those laws, we can take action against them."
He said that the immigration agency, a part of the Department of
Homeland Security, had made 1,057 arrests since February, when it
announced the anti-gang initiative. Of those, Chertoff estimated,
about 950 were illegal immigrants who, he said, "are subject to
being removed."
In addition, he said, criminal charges either had been or were expected
to be filed against about 230 of those arrested.
Initially, authorities focused on Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang
commonly known as MS-13, which is rooted in Central America but has
branches in Los Angeles, the Washington, D.C., area and elsewhere.
MS-13 members accounted for about half the arrests, Chertoff said.
The immigration agency expanded the program in May to target other
gangs, including Border Brothers and Latin Kings. "We have arrested
members of over 80 different gangs," Chertoff said.
The agency's initiative, which it calls Operation Community Shield,
reflects the way concerns about border security and immigration are
refocusing federal and state anti-gang operations, officials said.
The involvement of gangs in immigrant smuggling, gangs' sophisticated
ability to produce fake Social Security cards and driver's licenses,
and their large number of foreign-born members are leading law
enforcement authorities and Congress to place renewed emphasis
on immigration law as a tool for combating gangs and on anti-gang
measures as a way to fight immigration fraud.
Separate from the Homeland Security effort, Rep. J. Randy Forbes
(R-Va.) is working with law enforcement groups, including some in Los
Angeles, and others to push a bill that would allow police to deport
legal and illegal immigrants who are found to be members of a violent
criminal gang, regardless of whether they have committed a crime.
Marcy Foreman, director of the agency's Office of Investigations, said
the anti-gang initiative involved extensive use of law enforcement
databases. Immigration enforcement offices nationwide contacted state
and local law enforcement agencies to identify the most pressing
local gang threats.
Suspects' names and potential target information were vetted by
the agency's Law Enforcement Support Center in Vermont and then run
through several data banks.
The most recent arrests, from July 16 to July 28, took place not only
in urban areas on both coasts, but included cities in the Midwest
and the South, reflecting the nationwide presence of gangs and recent
patterns of immigration.
The cities in which suspects were arrested included Sioux City, Iowa;
St. Paul, Minn.; Birmingham, Ala., and Charlotte, N.C. Boston led
the country with 61 arrests.
Authorities in California made 57 arrests, including 18 in San Diego
and 26 in Los Angeles, immigration officials said in written statements
released to coincide with the news conference. Among the suspects were:
~U A 31-year-old Mexican member of the 18th Street Gang with
convictions for vehicle theft, damaging power lines, threatened crime
with intent to terrorize, and possession of marijuana for sale.
~U A 27-year-old Guatemalan and MS-13 member who entered the U.S.
illegally in 1998 was once convicted of a threatening crime with the
intent to terrorize and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.
~U An Armenian national, 24, who entered the U.S. legally in 1980
and joined the Armenian Power gang. His criminal record includes
convictions for drug possession and spousal battery.
Oceanside Police Chief Jerry Lance said that since February, the
federal immigration agency had helped his city, north of San Diego,
round up 76 alleged gang members and 80 "associates," whom he described
as illegal immigrants, some with criminal records, who were present
when customs enforcement authorities raided gang homes or locations.
He said that in two cities where he had served as chief - Oceanside
and Long Beach - members of violent gangs had killed police officers.
Los Angeles Times
Aug 2 2005
A recent U.S. initiative netted 582 arrests last month, 26 in Los
Angeles. Most suspects could be deported as illegal immigrants.
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - Law enforcement authorities arrested 582 alleged
gang members and associates, most of whom could be deported for
immigration violations, in a two-week period last month, Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Monday.
Twenty-six of the arrests were made in Los Angeles.
"Many gang members come to this country from overseas, or from other
parts of the North and South American continent, which means that they
are subject to our immigration laws," Chertoff told a news conference
at the headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "When
they violate those laws, we can take action against them."
He said that the immigration agency, a part of the Department of
Homeland Security, had made 1,057 arrests since February, when it
announced the anti-gang initiative. Of those, Chertoff estimated,
about 950 were illegal immigrants who, he said, "are subject to
being removed."
In addition, he said, criminal charges either had been or were expected
to be filed against about 230 of those arrested.
Initially, authorities focused on Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang
commonly known as MS-13, which is rooted in Central America but has
branches in Los Angeles, the Washington, D.C., area and elsewhere.
MS-13 members accounted for about half the arrests, Chertoff said.
The immigration agency expanded the program in May to target other
gangs, including Border Brothers and Latin Kings. "We have arrested
members of over 80 different gangs," Chertoff said.
The agency's initiative, which it calls Operation Community Shield,
reflects the way concerns about border security and immigration are
refocusing federal and state anti-gang operations, officials said.
The involvement of gangs in immigrant smuggling, gangs' sophisticated
ability to produce fake Social Security cards and driver's licenses,
and their large number of foreign-born members are leading law
enforcement authorities and Congress to place renewed emphasis
on immigration law as a tool for combating gangs and on anti-gang
measures as a way to fight immigration fraud.
Separate from the Homeland Security effort, Rep. J. Randy Forbes
(R-Va.) is working with law enforcement groups, including some in Los
Angeles, and others to push a bill that would allow police to deport
legal and illegal immigrants who are found to be members of a violent
criminal gang, regardless of whether they have committed a crime.
Marcy Foreman, director of the agency's Office of Investigations, said
the anti-gang initiative involved extensive use of law enforcement
databases. Immigration enforcement offices nationwide contacted state
and local law enforcement agencies to identify the most pressing
local gang threats.
Suspects' names and potential target information were vetted by
the agency's Law Enforcement Support Center in Vermont and then run
through several data banks.
The most recent arrests, from July 16 to July 28, took place not only
in urban areas on both coasts, but included cities in the Midwest
and the South, reflecting the nationwide presence of gangs and recent
patterns of immigration.
The cities in which suspects were arrested included Sioux City, Iowa;
St. Paul, Minn.; Birmingham, Ala., and Charlotte, N.C. Boston led
the country with 61 arrests.
Authorities in California made 57 arrests, including 18 in San Diego
and 26 in Los Angeles, immigration officials said in written statements
released to coincide with the news conference. Among the suspects were:
~U A 31-year-old Mexican member of the 18th Street Gang with
convictions for vehicle theft, damaging power lines, threatened crime
with intent to terrorize, and possession of marijuana for sale.
~U A 27-year-old Guatemalan and MS-13 member who entered the U.S.
illegally in 1998 was once convicted of a threatening crime with the
intent to terrorize and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.
~U An Armenian national, 24, who entered the U.S. legally in 1980
and joined the Armenian Power gang. His criminal record includes
convictions for drug possession and spousal battery.
Oceanside Police Chief Jerry Lance said that since February, the
federal immigration agency had helped his city, north of San Diego,
round up 76 alleged gang members and 80 "associates," whom he described
as illegal immigrants, some with criminal records, who were present
when customs enforcement authorities raided gang homes or locations.
He said that in two cities where he had served as chief - Oceanside
and Long Beach - members of violent gangs had killed police officers.