A snapshot of the immigration story in N.C.

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Addresing the gang problem

Many states in the South are now grappling with the presence of gangs — always thought to be a city problem — now spreading to smaller, more rural communities. In Alamance County, North Carolina the presence of gangs manifests itself with the graffitti left behind and the growing drug trade on some of the states' major highways. Gang activity became such a concern that in the Spring of 2005, Alamance County sheriff's officer Randy Jones applied for federal and state aid in order to create their very own gang unit. The unit would specialize in identifying gang members and trying to root them out. The three-man department cost the county a quarter of a million dollars and consisted of three sheriff's officers. They were trained by some of the top gang investigators in Los Angeles and New York.

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N.C.: Alamance County Gang Task Force
One of the concerns included in the influx of an immigrant community are gang problems. Many states in the South are now grappling with their presence.
Dateline NBC

In the winter of 2005, the fledgling unit here was still struggling to learn more about the growing presence in their community of the notoriously, violent Latino gang called MS-13 or mara salvatrucha.

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