Crackdown

During a 3-month crackdown in 23 cities, over 1,300 alleged violent gang members were arrested. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were part of the national initiative against violent transnational gangs called Operation Community Shield, in charge of the bulk of these arrests. "Violent foreign-born gang members and their associates have more than worn out their welcome, and to them I have one message: Good riddance," says the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the national initiative against violent transnational gangs called Operation Community Shield, who were also in charge of the bulk of these arrests. Also stated by the head was that the majority of the gangs were foreign-born.

The Mara Salvatrucha gang, commonly referred to as MS-13, had the largest number of individuals arrested. The majority of the suspects were deported, while others faced multiple charges of drug possession, assault, firearm possession, murder, kidnapping, and extortion. Also credited with the arrests of these suspects is the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Because of the initiation of Operation Community Shield, in the past 2 years, over 7,000 alleged gang members have been arrested and prosecuted and these numbers keep growing as the years progress.