1,313 allegedly violent gang members nabbed

updated 7:15 p.m. ET Oct. 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - Federal agents arrested 1,313 violent gang members in a three-month enforcement sweep across 23 cities from New York to San Diego, the government announced Tuesday.

Since 2005, law enforcement authorities have arrested more than 7,500 gang members through a federally led strategy of enforcing immigration laws to get violent gang members off the street.

“Violent foreign-born gang members and their associates have more than worn out their welcome, and to them I have one message: good riddance,” said Julie Myers, assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Of those arrested in the three-month sting, 1,053 are in the country illegally.

The nationwide anti-gang initiative, called “Operation Community Shield,” has resulted in 2,444 criminal charges and 5,211 immigration-related charges, according to ICE. Agents seized 287 firearms and arrested 107 gang leaders across 19 states.

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