TERRORISM: Homeland Security operation targets members in 27 states

In a sweep covering 27 states, Homeland Security has nabbed 528 purported gang members many of whom were picked up due to being in the US illegally. Most of the gang members were arrested between July 16th and the 28th. Some of the gangs that these people were members of includes Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; Surenos; the 18th Street Gang; Latin Kings; the Mexican Mafia; Border Brothers; Brown Pride. These Central American gangs are some of the most dangerous on the continent.
This sweep was part of Homeland Security's ICE department and was named "Operation Community Shield"




The thing that bothers me on this operation is that most of the arrests were made in northern tier states. Many here have believed that the illegal immigrant / drug / gang issue was solely a southern / border state issue. This operation shows that this is a national problem that is growing day by day. If you all will remember during the recent Minuteman Project that was going on a few months back, the M-13 gang made a lot of noise about attacking the Minuteman people so that the (M-13) could continue their drug and people smuggling operations. Unfortunately, if we will probably let these people go since as has been reported in the past, if the country of origin refuses to take these people back….. we will release them back into the US population.

Related News Links:
www.foxnews.com
www.foxnews.com
www.ice.gov
news.bbc.co.uk

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
WAR: Illegal Immigrants Accessed Nuclear Weapons Grade Facility
WAR: Congressman Tancredo Calls for Border Official to Resign
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 3-8-2005 by asala]

Recently heard some news that suggested that DC and Northern Virginia were among the newest "hot spots" for illegal immigration. Also, MS-13 has been getting a lot of press in this area in the past few years. Many people are shocked that gang activity is making its mark on what seems otherwise to be a VERY affluent, upscale area.

Earlier this week, the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group in Washington, released a report estimating that the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States increased from 8.4 million in 2000 to 10.3 million in 2004. Virginia and Maryland have an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 undocumented immigrants each, according to the report.

Source

Although I am all for getting criminals off the streets, illegals or not, why do they publicize this as a "round up"? Don't they do this all the time? Does this mean they are finished? I'm sure they have always been doing this before and will continue after the roundup. But what prompted the need to round these guys up in large numbers all at once? I think this is being used for PR for the DoHS for some unknown agenda.

According to ICE, this is an ongoing sweep. It is just that the number of people that were picked up between July 16th and the 28th more than doubles the number of arrests that they have made.

Isn't this a job for INS??? Why is homeland security picking up illegals?
Maybe INS and the Department of Homeland should be combined under one govt entity. It would make sense for these two beuracracies to work hand in hand. Domestic terrorism in the form of gang related violence is more of an issue to everyday living of Americans than attacks by Al-Qaeda or some other extremist group.

I do hope these criminals get deported and don't end up spending years living off of tax payer money.

WorldWatcher,
The INS is under the umbrella of HomeLand Security.

Giving this a bump.
I think this is a problem that goes hand in hand with the issues that are being reported along the US mexican border, The New Laredo issue, The closing of the US Consule etc.

Many Americans either see this as an issue that cannot / does not affect them directly or when someone raises the issue, that person is labeled as a bigot.
As the "roundup" demonstrated so eloquently, this illegal immigrant, the various drug / gang issues that are so intergrated with the US MExican border, It is a nationwide problem that at thsi time I can see no end to.
The one problem / question that I have for ICE, what are they going top do with all the people that they picked up? Are they going to just release them back into the US population like they did recently?
For those of you who are not familiar with what I am refering to, A while back, INS released over 2000 illegal immigrants into the population due to the fact that the home countries that they hailed from refused to readmit them back.

All I know is that Latin Kings is actually a gang founded in Chicago in the thirties to protect area hispanics from hate crimes and racism. Of course their expansion has forgotten the roots of their founding and simply gone with the typical criminal activities prevelant in any mafia/cartel/gang.

I for one, am glad to see all the funding we give homeland security actually having some result. Its about time some attention came to this issue. You know many will rush to the defense of these gang member's rights but what of the rights of those they vitimize. Being in a gang is not like being in an organization in which members mind their own business and contribute to operate. These people rob, rape, and murder on a daily basis as casually as most of us get up and go to work. They do not attack those who might pose a challege but tend to bottomfeed on the weak and elderly in society. One wonders how such individuals can carry such egos when you just beat and robbed a 85 year old woman. I guess thats what all the fancy clothing and jewelry is for, compensation for the lack of spine to work for what you get.

It is my sincerest hope that these thugs and their attorneys are all given some "special treatement" to persuade them that their activities will no longer be tolerated.

I know many of you hate Homeland Security and I too question its motives at times but this is something I'm glad to see undertaken.

This is the story I saw that prompted my submission of FBI goes after "World's Most Dangerous Gang". Interesting to note how the threads have diverged.

It is important for the American people to be aware of the porosity, the virtual non-existence, of our nation's borders to the dedicated criminal element. This enemy is amongst us, and travels the world at will.

It is what our leaders use the dissemination of this information to justify that will ultimately determine its ongoing impact. Will we use it to strengthen the Patriot Act and other incursions on civil liberties intra-nationally, or will it turn our attention to the truly important task of identifying and rooting out this 'criminal element' in all its forms, at home and abroad, and securing our borders, military, and political process from the threat of it?

As long as this 'criminal element' is allowed to lurk in the shadows, with many members entrenched in the military and political power structure of this very country, and other nations around the world, progress against it will be hard to come by. We continue to chase our own tail.

Grrr...the big threat is in the south, and they go to the north. Yup, at least they are consistent.