An immigration expert has testified that Obama’s loose border security policy has become an avenue for violent gangs — like MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang — to send foot soldiers across the border, causing a major rise in murder rates in cities across the country.
Jessica Vaughan, the policy director for the Center for Immigration Studies, testified before a House hearing on the border surge and said Obama’s open-door policy has caused a hike in both murder and violent crime.
Testifying before the February 4 hearing, Vaughan said, “Established gangs have been able to transfer an unknown number of experienced foot soldiers from Central America to help colonize new criminal territory in the United States.”
Vaughan warned that these violent gangs are finding fertile ground for recruitment in the United States and said, “The tide of new young people, many of whom have already been exposed or involved in street gangs at home, has provided a huge pool of new recruits for the gangs here. Gangs such as MS-13 and 18th Street are enjoying a brutal revival in certain parts of the country and are establishing themselves in new places.”
Indeed, Paul Bedard has reported that some immigration officials are saying Obama “may as well abolish our immigration laws altogether.”
Not only has the border patrol been given a stand down order and told to stop arresting illegals for deportation, the agents have been told that the whereabouts of illegals released are not to be tracked and reported.
Vaughan pointed out that Obama’s policies are serving to help the gangs grow. “Violent transnational gangs such as MS-13 have taken full advantage of the Obama administration’s welcome mat to swell their ranks here, contributing to a noticeable spike in gang violence in certain localities — with tragic results,” she said.
Crimes by the violent gang MS-13, a gang based in California and made up of Salvadoran immigrants, have been growing at a fast clip. One shocking murder case in Virginia features two murder victims of a crew of MS-13 gang members living there. But Virginia isn’t alone. Cities all across the country are experiencing a crime wave at the hands of the gang.
Last year Vaughan also noted that Obama had wildly increased his policy of releasing violent criminal aliens into the populace instead of deporting them. By May of last year the Obama administration had released over 30,000 criminal aliens to American streets.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com