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Operation Community Shield, launched in March 2005, is ICE's comprehensive law enforcement initiative targeting violent criminal street gangs nationwide.

Initially, the focus of the effort was the Mara Salvatrucha organization, commonly referred to as "MS-13," one of the most violent and rapidly growing of these street gangs. During Phase I, ICE arrested 359 MS-13 members including 10 clique leaders.

In May 2005, ICE expanded Operation Community Shield to include all criminal street gangs that pose a risk to public safety and a concern to national security, putting into motion an aggressive law enforcement action with the goal to investigate, arrest, and prosecute any violent street gang members, leaders, and/or associates of MS-13 as well as other gangs such as Sureños, 18th Street gang, Latin Kings, Vatos Locos, Mexican Mafia, La Raza gang, Border Brothers, Brown Pride, Norteno, Florencia 13, Tiny Rascal, Asian Boyz, and Jamaican Posse that routinely seek to exploit or engage in violent criminal activities.

Under Operation Community Shield, ICE focuses its powerful enforcement tool toward a single goal: Dismantling gang organizations by targeting its members, seizing its financial assets and disrupting its criminal operations.

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America's Most Dangerous Gang

FR Keywords: gangs, m13, ICE

http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/051026greenbay.htm

October 26, 2005

7 GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN GREEN BAY DURING ICE-LED MULTI-AGENCY CRACKDOWN

GREEN BAY, Wis.— Seven members and associates of the Sureños 13 and Brown Pride Loco 13 street gangs were arrested here yesterday on administrative immigration violations in a coordinated multi-agency enforcement operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Tuesday’s early-morning operation was organized by ICE as part of “Operation Community Shield,” an ongoing national ICE anti-gang initiative designed to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute street gang members and their organizations. Other agencies participating in the Green Bay operation included: the Green Bay Police Department, the Brown County Metro Enforcement Group, the Green Bay offices of the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The majority of the men targeted in this operation had criminal histories, including prior convictions for weapons and narcotics. All those arrested are foreign nationals from Mexico and are being held in ICE custody pending deportation.

“We’re sending a message to the violent street gang members in America that stopping gang violence and crime is high on our list of ICE priorities,” said Brian Falvey, resident agent-in-charge for ICE investigations in Milwaukee. “Law enforcement partnerships are effective in keeping criminals off the streets. These partnerships help break the cycle of the gang-related violence threatening the safety of our communities. This week’s arrests are a testament to the great working relationship between ICE, and the state and local government in Wisconsin.”

ICE launched Operation Community Shield in February to confront the national problem of violent street gangs. The goals of the initiative are to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute violent street gangs by employing the full range of authorities and investigative tools available to ICE.

Under this initiative, ICE is employing its broad immigration authorities (both criminal and administrative immigration authorities) against foreign-born gang members. ICE is also employing its broad customs authorities to combat drug trafficking and other crimes committed by these gangs.

The MS-13 street gang was the initial target of Operation Community Shield. MS-13 is the largest and most violent street gang in the country. In May, ICE expanded Operation Community Shield to include all criminal street gangs with foreign-born members. With the launch of this second phase, ICE's Operation Community shield aims to ensure that gang members have no safe haven in our nation's communities. Since the launch of Operation Community Shield, there have been more than 1,500 street gang members arrested nationwide.