Homeland Security bureau goes after gangs

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau announced Monday the launch of an operation focused on helping state and local law enforcement go after the nation's most violent gangs.

ICE officials said the bureau is uniquely suited for the effort because it can combine immigrations and customs enforcement powers to target, disrupt and, if necessary, deport members of violent gangs in the United States.

"We have incredible immigration authorities and customs authorities under one roof right now, and we're able to bring that to the table," said Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia, who is in charge of ICE. "We not only can take them off the streets and detain them, but we can deport them from the United States, and that is an incredibly powerful tool in going after a criminal organization."

The effort, called Operation Community Shield, targets the Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang, commonly known as MS-13. According to ICE, the operation has already netted 103 MS-13 members, including 30 in New York City and 25 in Washington. The operation will initially focus on six major cities: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Baltimore, Newark and Washington.

Garcia said ICE can handle the effort, because it will leverage the resources of state and local law enforcement. ICE has been under a hiring freeze and austere spending restrictions since last year due to a budget shortfall.

"This is a perfect example of where we should put our resources," Garcia said. "Violent gang members are causing incredible problems [and] public safety issues in communities."

"Our goal is simple," Garcia added. "Under this operation, ICE uses intelligence on MS-13 organization and membership provided to us by state and local law enforcement partners and then, whenever possible, we arrest and deport members of the gang. At the same time, we will investigate their assets to cut off their funding, [and] we will seize their cash and weapons and other assets that serve as tools of their trade."

As part of the operation, ICE will make its databases of gangs available to state and local law enforcement. Other federal agencies that will participate in the operation include the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ICE will also coordinate with foreign governments.

Garcia said threat assessments conducted by ICE field offices indicate that a large number of MS-13 members are foreign born and in the country illegally. According to ICE, the gang has also been "involved in or linked to a range of criminal activities, including human smuggling, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and intergang violence.

Garcia said, however, he has seen no conclusive evidence that MS-13 is connected with al Qaeda or any other terrorist organization. "But if you have a large-scale criminal organization operating in the United States and one that is reported to be smuggling -- smuggling contraband, smuggling people and exploiting border vulnerabilities -- you have to accept that as a homeland security risk," he said.