A 30-day sweep has netted law enforcement agencies a total of 45 gang members in the New York City metropolitan area, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a press release on June 14.
Long Island’s Suffolk County, which has been beleaguered by gang violence, accounted for 33 of the arrests.
The arrests included 39 affiliated with the violent Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, two with the Sureños, one with the 18th Street gang, one with the Latin Kings, one with Los Niños Malos, and one with Patria.
Twenty had additional criminal histories, including prior convictions for assault and weapons charges, according to ICE.
“These individuals are members of a violent street gang actively wreaking havoc in the community. This unified effort is about keeping New York citizens safe,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in New York.
All of the gang members hailed from four countries—El Salvador (27); Honduras (11); Mexico (5); and Guatemala (2).
El Salvador has been a breeding ground for MS-13 for at least two decades.
