For Immediate Release
March 28, 2016
For media inquiries about ICE activities, operations, or policies, contact the ICE Office of Public Affairs at (202) 732-4242.
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ICE
arrests more than 1,100 in operation targeting gangs
More
than 40,000 arrested since inception of Operation Community Shield in 2005
- Photos and
b-roll available here.
WASHINGTON — A five-week operation, dubbed Project Shadowfire, netted 1,133
arrests, including more than 900 transnational criminal gang members and others
associated with transnational criminal activity, like drug trafficking, human
smuggling and sex trafficking, murder and racketeering. The operation was led
by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI) and concluded March 21.
“This operation is the
latest example of ICE’s ongoing efforts, begun more than a decade ago under
Operation Community Shield, to target violent gang members and their associates,
to eradicate the violence they inflict upon our communities and to stop the
cash flow to transnational organized crime groups operating overseas,” said ICE
Director Sarah R. Saldaña.
Since the inception of Operation Community Shield in
February 2005, HSI special agents, working in conjunction with federal, state
and local law enforcement agencies, have made more than 40,000 gang-related arrests
and seized more than 8,000 firearms.
Project Shadowfire was a surge operation conducted
under Operation Community Shield, and led by the HSI National Gang Unit.
Between Feb. 15 and March 21, HSI special agents worked with numerous state,
local and federal law enforcement partners, including ICE’s Enforcement and
Removal Operations (ERO), to apprehend individuals from various gangs.
Most of the individuals arrested during Project Shadowfire
were U.S. citizens, but 239 foreign nationals from 13 countries in Central
America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean were also arrested.
Of the 1,133 arrests, 915 were gang members and
associates, 1,001 were charged with criminal offenses and 132 were arrested
administratively for immigration violations.
The majority of arrestees were affiliated with gangs
like MS-13, Sureños, Norteños, Bloods and several prison-based gangs. Enforcement
actions occurred around the country, with the greatest activity taking place in
the Los Angeles, San Juan, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, and El Paso areas.
HSI special agents also seized 150 firearms, more
than 20 kilograms of narcotics and more than $70,000 in U.S currency.
About
Operation Community Shield
Operation
Community Shield is a global initiative, started by ICE in 2005, in which
HSI collaborates with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to
combat the growth and proliferation of transnational criminal street gangs, prison
gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs in the United States and abroad. Through its
domestic and international Operation Community Shield task forces, HSI
leverages its worldwide presence and expansive statutory and civil enforcement
authorities to mitigate the threats posted by these global networks, often
through the tracing and seizing of cash, weapons and other illicit proceeds.
Partnerships with state, local, federal and
international law enforcement agencies are critical to the success of HSI gang
enforcement operations. Law enforcement partners provide actionable
intelligence which is critical in targeting gangs and their membership for
enforcement actions. HSI special agents use intelligence gathered from surge
operations to pursue complex criminal enterprise investigations and federal
prosecutions.
The National Gang Unit oversees HSI’s expansive
transnational gang portfolio and enables special agents to bring the fight to
these criminal enterprises through the development of uniform enforcement and
intelligence-sharing strategies.
Recent National Gang Unit-led operations include: Southern
Tempest in 2011, targeting gangs affiliated with drug trafficking; Project
Nefarious in 2012, targeting gangs involved in human smuggling and
trafficking; Project
Southbound in 2014, targeting the Sureños, the fasting growing
transnational gang in the U.S., and Project
Wildfire in 2015, the largest gang surge conducted by HSI to date.
Additionally, for the past three years, ICE has
held an anti-gang
conference with the U.S. Department of State in Mexico City to provide
training and capacity building for international law enforcement officers to
combat and prevent gang activities.
To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour,
toll-free hotline at: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or visit www.ice.gov/tips.
# ICE #
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a
number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit: www.ICE.gov.
To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.
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