The Face of Immigration

Photos provided by: U..S. Customs and Border Protection

Originally posted August 8, 2014.

MS-13 was originally organized in Los Angeles by Salvadorian immigrants. Today MS-13 is a blight in at least 42 states and, as CNN notes, has grown to about 10,000 members. With all those highly trained special forces operators soon to be returning from Afghanistan, perhaps our elected politicians in Washington could assemble a few teams to round up a compelling number of these highly tattooed criminal freaks.

Among those charged are 158 members and associates of MS-13, with 105 others allegedly belonging to other gangs. Authorities arrested 84 non-gang members wanted on criminal charges and 14 people on immigration violations as part of the same sweep, according to the federal agency.

Special agents with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit also seized 28 firearms, 10 kilograms of marijuana, 123 grams of cocaine, over 770 grams of heroin and about $22,400 in cash.

Agency officials describe MS-13 — also known by the name Mara Salvatrucha — as “one of the most dangerous transnational criminal gangs in the world today.”

Salvadoran immigrants fleeing that nation’s civil war started MS-13 some years ago in Los Angeles.

Since then, the group has grown to about 10,000 members — most of them Central and South American immigrants — operating in largely independent chapters across 42 states, according to the FBI. Authorities allege MS-13 members engage in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, murder, rape, robbery and other crimes.