1,300 Arrested in Gang Crackdown

Criminal Justice

Posted Oct 9, 2007, 11:24 am CST
By Martha Neil

Federal and local law enforcement agencies have reportedly arrested more than 1,300 suspected gang members in 23 cities throughout the country over the past three months, as part of a "summer surge" crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Those taken into custody are either prosecuted in federal court or deported, CNN said. Many of the suspected gang members are foreign-born, according to Julie L. Myers. She is assistant secretary of homeland security for the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.

Nearly 100 suspected gang members were arrested in Raleigh and Winston-Salem, N.C., according to a local ABC News television station. During the last month of so, about 40 suspected immigrant gang members and associates were rounded up in the San Fernando Valley in California, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

Of 29 suspects arrested in California on Friday, only two are facing criminal charges other than illegal immigration counts, the Daily News says. But authorities say many of the suspects have criminal histories, the newspaper writes.

"The key thing is to recognize we're dealing with people with criminal histories," says Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the Los Angeles ICE office of investigations. "They're really threatening our immigrant communities."

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