Thread: MA: Feds nab 11 gang members in two day sweep in Brockton

wickedlocal.com
Feds nab 11 gang members in two day sweep in Brockton aimed at curbing violent crime
By Maureen Boyle
Thu Jun 12, 2008, 11:31 AM EDT

BROCKTON -
Eleven gang members were arrested in a federal immigration sweep aimed at ridding the streets of violent street gangs.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with Brockton police, arrested 11 gang members and associates along with 11 others with criminal records for deportation.

The two-day operation, ending today, is the latest in the ICE Operation Community Shield enforcement effort.

Those arrested had criminal records for chargse ranging from assault to kill and racketeering to witness intimidation and malicious destruction of property.

Those arrested as part of the operation are foreign nationals from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Haiti, according to ICE.

Of the 22 arrested, 16 were permanent residents with criminal convictions making them eligible for deportation. Five were illegally living in the country and one was wanted on a warrant for deportation.

The sweep comes as federal, state and local law enforcement officials try to find ways to keep violence down in the city as the weather heats up.

State police have boosted patrols in the city, working side-by-side with Brockton officers on some patrols, in one attempt to keep the lid on crime.

Working with federal officials and agencies has also been another way to target some violent criminals in the city.

“Public safety is a significant part of ICE’s role in protecting the homeland, but it is also a shared law enforcement mission,â€

When gang members or criminals who are illegal aliens are caught, their entire immediate families should be deported along with them, after he/she serves his/her time. Letting their families stay here will only give him/her the incentive to come back illegally.

The same should be required of permanent legal residents. It should serve as an incentive to keep their noses clean if they think their families will be paying for their crimes too.