Thread: D.C. officials believe illegal immigration leading to increase in gang-related crime

Local officials believe illegal immigration leading to increase in gang-related crime

FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald reports.By: Tom Fitzgerald
POSTED:JUN 23 2016 06:04PM EDT
UPDATED:JUN 23 2016 09:12PM EDT

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court’s deadlock ruling that essentially blocks President Barack Obama’s immigration plan to help millions living in the country illegally comes as our local communities are seeing an increase in violent crime and murders, especially among Latino gangs operating in Maryland and Northern Virginia.

Local officials said they are facing a crisis and want the federal government to enforce the immigration laws that are already on the books.

Just days ago, Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger told the county council that his department is facing a surge in gang-related crime and homicides. In 2015, the police department investigated eight gang-related murders – a total that quadrupled over the previous year.

Local officials believe illegal immigration leading to increase in gang-related crime


Many experts will say it is the Latino communities themselves that are bearing the brunt of this violence and both law enforcement and political leaders in D.C., Maryland and Virginia say the increase gang violence is connected to the wave of unaccompanied minors to the United States.

Many have come to the country during a crush of illegal immigrants at the U.S. border in 2014. While many young people didn't come to the D.C. region as gang members, police said they have been targeted, bullied and drafted into joining gangs as a result of not being supervised or monitored by the federal government after they were allowed enter the U.S.

Advocates for racial diversity and opportunities for immigrants caution against throwing up any barriers to these groups. But Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, is sounding an alarm.
"We warned two to three years ago that this influx over the border of illegal aliens was going to cause an increase in MS-13 and other gang-related crime,” said Stewart. “It’s happening. We are seeing it happen. It is not just in the border towns.

It is happening all across America and we are seeing it especially here in Northern Virginia and the D.C. region."

“Diversity matters. It recognizes that race matters in our society and it is factored in the appropriate way,” said Dr. Gregory Vincent, vice president for diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. “It also sends a very powerful message that educational benefits will help break down these stereotypes that continue to plague our community.”

CASA de Maryland, an organization that advocates for Latinos, said in a statement they were disappointed by the Supreme Court immigration ruling on Thursday.

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/165027727-story

Really? Wow, these local officials are geniuses. Yes, illegal immigration leads to increases in all crime because they're criminals, they're lawbreakers, they sneaks, cheats, moochers, who have nothing good to bring here. They are the losers who couldn't or wouldn't try to make it in their own countries who opted to flee the law or whatever to hide out here as an illegal alien breaking our laws, stealing jobs from our citizens, snuffing down welfare, food stamps, cell phones, free school lunch, Medicaid, education, health care and on and on and on.

As long as it's not in Obama's or Hillary's neighborhood they don't care whats happening across the country.

'It's happening. We are seeing it happen. It is not just in the border towns'

Published: 2 hours ago
By Steve Birr

Washington Metro area officials are blaming illegal immigrants for a rise in gang related violence, and are imploring federal officials to enforce immigration laws and stem the flow.

“We warned two to three years ago that this influx over the border of illegal aliens was going to cause an increase in MS-13 and other gang-related crime,” Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisor, told Fox 5. “It’s happening. We are seeing it happen. It is not just in the border towns. It is happening all across America and we are seeing it especially here in Northern Virginia and the D.C. region.”

Maryland and Northern Virginia are seeing an influx of immigrants and a rise in homicides, many tied back to increased gang activity, particularly with the notorious MS-13 group. District officials saw a record homicide rate in 2015, but Maryland is also struggling with a rise in violent incidents. Montgomery County Police said they investigated eight gang-related murders in 2015, four times more than in the previous year, reports Fox 5.

Law enforcement officials in the D.C. Metro area argue the spike in activity correlates with the wave of unaccompanied minors coming across America’s southern border.

The Supreme Court voted in a 4-4 split decision Thursday on Differed Action, which would have allowed illegal immigrants and their families to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation. The split decision means the door is currently left opened for continued deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally.

CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group based in Maryland, says the decision puts immigrants back at risk, calling on President Obama to halt further deportations for the rest of his term through executive action.

“We are so sad, so disappointed but we will not stop fighting until our families are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve,” Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, said in a statement. “President Obama has already deported millions of people but with this final blow to hope delivered by the Supreme Court today he should at least stop worsening the damage to immigrant families and communities.”

Despite the position of advocacy groups local official’s primary concern is preventing more gang violence. MS-13 is increasing their activity and targeting susceptible young immigrants. A surge of minors crossing the U.S. southern border in recent years is helping the notorious gang boost their ranks and instigate a new string of violent attacks in the city and surrounding areas.

Experts say violence from MS-13, which originally started in California, historically occurs in waves. Currently MS-13, on orders from El Salvador, is ramping up efforts in cities across the U.S. to reestablish their dominance on the streets.

The gang is known for brutal violence and murders, usually involving knives and machetes. Eight homicides in Virginia and Maryland over the last year are linked to MS-13.

“What we are beginning to see is an attempt to re-establish themselves as the preeminent gang in the Maryland area,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy told The Washington Times in March. “They are actively trying to build their numbers again. That is based on direction they are receiving from outside the U.S.”

Three immigrants who entered the country illegally in 2013 were arrested and charged with the fatal shooting of a 17 year old in Loudoun County, Virginia. The men allegedly entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors, eventually falling off government radars after skipping their immigration hearings.

El Salvador, the gang’s home country, has the fourth highest per capita murder rate in the world, in large part due to the influence of MS-13. Washington, D.C., has the second largest Salvadorian community in the country behind Los Angeles at roughly 228,000 people.

In past years violence from MS-13 members appeared to be on the decline, as the gang shifted focus to human trafficking and running local brothels. A multiple gang truce reached in El Salvador in 2012 also contributed to a lull in violent activity from MS-13. The truce failed, however, sparking a huge uptick in the homicide rates of Central American countries which is beginning to spill into American cities.

http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/d-c-offic...n-crime-spike/

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CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group based in Maryland, says the decision puts immigrants back at risk, calling on President Obama to halt further deportations for the rest of his term through executive action.

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