The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in New York claims that President Trump wants to deport “children” “based on mere suspicion of gang affiliation.”
A blog post written by an ACLU staff attorney in New York notes comments President Trump made when he spoke to police officers in Brentwood. He writes:
Last week, flanked by police officers in Long Island, President Trump told a crowd of supporters his administration was getting rid of immigrant ‘animals’ who were causing gang violence in their communities. ‘They’re going to jails,’ Trump yelled, ‘and then they’re going back to their country. Or they’re going back to their country, period.’
The writer adds:
But at least nine children from Suffolk County are being held in highly restrictive detention based solely on unconfirmed suspicions that they are affiliated with gangs. Despite the lessons of history, the Trump administration is once again arbitrarily jailing children.
The ACLU says that police in Suffolk County are working with the Trump administration to target children for arrest by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that children in the county are “being falsely labeled a gang member for wearing clothing with a Chicago Bulls logo, for playing soccer with suspected gang members, and for displaying the flag of their home country, El Salvador.”
During his speech to law enforcement officers, President Trump sent a strong message to MS-13 and other gang members. Breitbart News reported that “Trump referred to the gang members as ‘animals’ who spread fear and death throughout America’s cities and towns.”
“Together, we’re going to restore safety to our streets and peace to our communities, and we’re going to destroy the vile criminal cartel MS-13 and many other gangs,” the president promised. President Trump also said that “From now on, we’re going to enforce our laws, protect our borders, and support our police like our police have never been supported before.”
Breitbart Texas reported in March about the two 18-year-old MS-13 gang members who appeared in court, smiling and waving at television cameras, after they had been charged with kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl and murdering another. The two were reported to have participated in satanic rituals during the attacks.
Just today we reported about a now 20-year-old El Salvadoran who entered the country illegally as an Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) when he was 17-years-old. Police arrested him last week in Virginia on warrants relating to the murders of two Houston-area residents. Douglas Alexander Herrera-Hernandez allegedly shot a 16-year-old boy in June 2016 because he was providing confidential information about murders committed by the MS-13 gang to the police. A turf war between MS-13 and the Southside Cholos led to multiple killings. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said of his arrest, “The way they murder, machetes, shooting them dozens of times. It’s purposeful, and that’s to instill fear in the community.”
Speaking of the gang’s connection to its home nation of El Salvador, Ogg said, “MS leaders giving the green lights for hits from El Salvador, well they can expect for us to return it in kind.”
Two young El Salvadorian men pleaded guilty in April 2015 to the near beheading murder of another teen. The two men admitted to murdering 16-year-old Josael Guevara who was a student at Klein Forrest High School in North Houston. One of them was only 17-years-old at the time of the crime. The hit was ordered by MS-13 gang leaders. The MS-13 gang members admitted to taking the Houston teen to the forest where he was killed.
Three 19-year-olds and a 22-year-old who were members of the MS-13 gang were charged with murdering three New York teenagers in March. They along with two others allegedly murdered 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cueva with a machete and a baseball bat in September of 2016. The suspects were reported to have been looking for rivals to kill when they saw the girls walking down the street.
MS-13 members frequently recruit children who are illegally in the country. An official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York testified before the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence on June 20 that MS-13 members are “typically much younger than those connected to other street gangs.” They take “cues from the gang instead of relying on a productive family structure. Also, those emigrating from El Salvador to the United States are known to be exposed and desensitized to extreme violence at an early age.” The FBI assistant director said the gang had a “propensity for gruesome violence.”
On June 10, Breitbart Texas reported that the numbers of unaccompanied minors (UACs) being apprehended at the Texas-Mexico border, particularly from El Salvador, was again on the rise. Although there had been a six-month downtrend, 8,005 UACs from El Salvador have been apprehended after crossing the border illegally since October 1, 2016. There were 1,493 apprehended in May of this year alone — nearly a fifty percent increase from the previous month.
On June 15, law enforcement immigration officers and agents arrested 39 MS-13 members in New York – 12 of these had entered the United States as unaccompanied minors. In addition to the 39 MS-13 members, the operation led to the arrest of two Sureños gang members, one member of the 18th Street Gang, one Latin King, one Los Niños Malos, and one with Patria. Operation Matador was conducted over a 30-day period.
“Transnational gangs like MS-13 bring nothing but violence and conflict to our communities, and their presence will not be tolerated. Their vicious criminal activities present an ongoing challenge for law enforcement everywhere,” Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York Angel M. Melendez said. “It is with the efforts of our federal partners under DHS and the incredible assistance provided by our local law enforcement partnerships with Suffolk County and Nassau County Police Departments that we will continue to dismantle these gangs piece by piece to enhance the safety and security of our communities.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.