ICE

April 13, 2005 the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims, of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 109th Conress. There is a link to the webpage at the end of this post. The following is some excerpts taken from testimony before this committee-

Over 631 gang-related homicides occurred in 2001, and by 2003 the number of gang killings had jumped to 819. In addition to homicide, gang members have been directly linked to the narcotics trade, human trafficking, document fraud, and violent assaults.

The majority of MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) members are foreign nationals in this country illegally. Newsweek has called this gang, the most dangerous gang in America. It has even been alleged to be negotiating with al Qaeda to smuggle terrorists into our country. Let's get them out. The problem? Some critics have complained, that flaws in our current immigration system hinder efforts to use the current immigration laws to curtail the alien gang epidemic. For example, some have pointed to the so-called 'sanctuary' laws that prohibit State and local law enforcement officers from contacting immigration aauthorities about illegal aliens, even if they are previously deported criminals. Such laws require the police to wait until those illegal aliens prey on the public before they can act. Some have asserted that temporary protected status, or TPS, has also protected alien gang members who would have otherwise been deportable. Gang members cannot be deported just for being gang members.

In 2003, ICE conducted a comprehensive threat assessment on violent street gang activity in the United States. The threat assessment identified MS-13 as having a presence across the nation, a significant foreign-born membership, and a history of violence.

The Law Enforcement Support Center checks MS-13 gang membe data provided by State and local authorities against DHS and other databases to locate gang members. In a cooperative effore, ICE and Bureau of Prisons identitied 102 records of MS-13 gang member in the Federal prison system database.

If you wish to find out more, the entire testimonial is on this page. It is a lengthy document.