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Heritage Foundation: Ganging Up on Illegal Alien Criminals
Friday, November 30, 2007
By Erica Little
Americans are divided over many issues relating to illegal immigration. But
almost everyone agrees that illegal aliens who commit violent crimes should
be deported.
Recent violent gang activity shows that disregard for our laws doesn't end
after an immigrant enters the United States illegally. Some become involved
in street gangs, such as the notorious MS-13 (which has international ties),
and commit some of the group's most heinous violent crimes.
In the last two years, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) agency has significantly increased its efforts to find and deport
illegal-alien gang members who commit crimes. Through this ramped-up effort,
the agency is working to enforce immigration laws against the worst
offenders -- and it hasn't received the credit it deserves.
Instead of trying to federalize more and more state crimes, Congress should
expand existing federal programs that address a true national
responsibility. ICE's recent initiative is actually a more effective use of
federal resources in fighting gang crime.
Most crime committed by gang members is better addressed by local
authorities, but ICE's recent initiative demonstrates that there are
important areas in which the federal government can act to ease the burden
on state and local resources, while continuing to satisfy federal
priorities. Simply enforcing our immigration laws is a big step.
RelatedColumn Archive
Heritage Foundation: Ganging Up on Illegal Alien CriminalsSpeaking Up for
Talk RadioHeritage Foundation: The Rights of GuantanamoHeritage Foundation:
Health Care on the BrinkHeritage Foundation: Organized Labor's Green
BlackmailFull-page Heritage Foundation Archive
In 2005, ICE stepped up its effort to target illegal aliens involved in
gangs through a program called Operation Community Shield. Agency officials
work with state and local authorities to arrest, prosecute and seek the
removal of illegal alien gang members.
ICE helps fill gaps on intelligence. Among other things, local law
enforcement shares information from its gang database with ICE agents, who
use it to search through their larger immigration database. If gang members
are either here illegally or eligible for removal based on their criminal
convictions, ICE can deport them. The agency says its initiative has led to
a 533 percent increase in gang member arrests since its inception and a 134
percent increase in arrests from 2005 to 2006. That's 7,655 individuals,
from more than 700 gangs, arrested on immigration and criminal violations
since 2005.
The increase in the number of arrests is encouraging, even though this is
only a small percentage of the total number of criminal, illegal aliens
living in the United States.
In 2005 (the last year for which numbers are available), ICE deported 89,406
aliens. However, a targeted approach that aims at the worst offenders, such
as violent gang members, may reduce crime more than the numbers suggest.
Often a core group of repeat offenders are responsible for most of the
criminal activity in a given area. This is especially true of gang crime,
where organized activity adds significantly to the rate of crime.
Federal officials who want to fight criminal street gangs should take note
of Operation Community Shield. This initiative shows how criminal activity
can be fought effectively without violating our federalist structure of
government. Just as it's the role of the states to use police power to
protect citizens from crime, it's the role of the federal government to
protect our country through the enforcement of our immigration laws. It's
essential to our homeland security, and it should be a priority.
Unfortunately, many members of Congress seem to think the solution is more
federal criminal law. That won't work for many reasons, not the least of
which is that federal involvement in an area traditionally left to the
states distracts federal officials from their actual responsibilities, such
as enforcing immigration laws.
Available federal resources shouldn't be used to combat local street crime
that doesn't involve core national responsibilities.. More resources should
be devoted to this and similar programs to have an even greater impact on
the enormous problems of illegal immigration and gang crime.
Those who enter our country illegally are flouting our laws. To add insult
to injury, those who join gangs and engage in violent crime not only show
disrespect for our laws but also for the lives of U.S. citizens. The
cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement is an effective,
constitutional way to fight back.
Erica Little is a Legal Policy Analyst in the Center for Legal and Judicial
Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Heritage Foundation: Ganging Up on Illegal Alien Criminals
Friday, November 30, 2007
By Erica Little
Americans are divided over many issues relating to illegal immigration. But
almost everyone agrees that illegal aliens who commit violent crimes should
be deported.
Recent violent gang activity shows that disregard for our laws doesn't end
after an immigrant enters the United States illegally. Some become involved
in street gangs, such as the notorious MS-13 (which has international ties),
and commit some of the group's most heinous violent crimes.
In the last two years, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) agency has significantly increased its efforts to find and deport
illegal-alien gang members who commit crimes. Through this ramped-up effort,
the agency is working to enforce immigration laws against the worst
offenders -- and it hasn't received the credit it deserves.
Instead of trying to federalize more and more state crimes, Congress should
expand existing federal programs that address a true national
responsibility. ICE's recent initiative is actually a more effective use of
federal resources in fighting gang crime.
Most crime committed by gang members is better addressed by local
authorities, but ICE's recent initiative demonstrates that there are
important areas in which the federal government can act to ease the burden
on state and local resources, while continuing to satisfy federal
priorities. Simply enforcing our immigration laws is a big step.
RelatedColumn Archive
Heritage Foundation: Ganging Up on Illegal Alien CriminalsSpeaking Up for
Talk RadioHeritage Foundation: The Rights of GuantanamoHeritage Foundation:
Health Care on the BrinkHeritage Foundation: Organized Labor's Green
BlackmailFull-page Heritage Foundation Archive
In 2005, ICE stepped up its effort to target illegal aliens involved in
gangs through a program called Operation Community Shield. Agency officials
work with state and local authorities to arrest, prosecute and seek the
removal of illegal alien gang members.
ICE helps fill gaps on intelligence. Among other things, local law
enforcement shares information from its gang database with ICE agents, who
use it to search through their larger immigration database. If gang members
are either here illegally or eligible for removal based on their criminal
convictions, ICE can deport them. The agency says its initiative has led to
a 533 percent increase in gang member arrests since its inception and a 134
percent increase in arrests from 2005 to 2006. That's 7,655 individuals,
from more than 700 gangs, arrested on immigration and criminal violations
since 2005.
The increase in the number of arrests is encouraging, even though this is
only a small percentage of the total number of criminal, illegal aliens
living in the United States.
In 2005 (the last year for which numbers are available), ICE deported 89,406
aliens. However, a targeted approach that aims at the worst offenders, such
as violent gang members, may reduce crime more than the numbers suggest.
Often a core group of repeat offenders are responsible for most of the
criminal activity in a given area. This is especially true of gang crime,
where organized activity adds significantly to the rate of crime.
Federal officials who want to fight criminal street gangs should take note
of Operation Community Shield. This initiative shows how criminal activity
can be fought effectively without violating our federalist structure of
government. Just as it's the role of the states to use police power to
protect citizens from crime, it's the role of the federal government to
protect our country through the enforcement of our immigration laws. It's
essential to our homeland security, and it should be a priority.
Unfortunately, many members of Congress seem to think the solution is more
federal criminal law. That won't work for many reasons, not the least of
which is that federal involvement in an area traditionally left to the
states distracts federal officials from their actual responsibilities, such
as enforcing immigration laws.
Available federal resources shouldn't be used to combat local street crime
that doesn't involve core national responsibilities.. More resources should
be devoted to this and similar programs to have an even greater impact on
the enormous problems of illegal immigration and gang crime.
Those who enter our country illegally are flouting our laws. To add insult
to injury, those who join gangs and engage in violent crime not only show
disrespect for our laws but also for the lives of U.S. citizens. The
cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement is an effective,
constitutional way to fight back.
Erica Little is a Legal Policy Analyst in the Center for Legal and Judicial
Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
