25 arrested in Chicago area during ICE operation targeting gang members

Hi Gang:
Today’s commentary is predicated on a posting on the ICE website yesterday, Thursday, September 15th that announced the arrest of 25 aliens who are members of violent gangs and are all citizens of Mexico.
Here is the excerpt from the news release that summarizes the field operation that was conducted with local police officers under the aegis of “Operation Community Shield”
                                                                                                                 ***********************************

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, a national initiative whereby ICE partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational street gangs. Partnerships with local law enforcement agencies are essential to the success of Operation Community Shield.

The multi-agency operation was conducted Sept. 6 through 13. Arrests were made in the following Illinois communities: Aurora, Barrington, Chicago, Elgin, Joliet, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Romeoville. All of the 25 male Mexican nationals arrested are members or associates of the following street gangs:  Latin Kings, Vice Lords, Satan Disciples, Latin Saints, Party People, and Sureño 13. They range in age from 18 to 35.

Nearly all of those arrested (22 individuals) have criminal histories that include arrests and convictions for a wide range of crimes committed in the United States. Some of their convictions include drug possession, aggravated assault, vehicle theft, battery, and concealing a homicide.

Two were turned over to the Aurora Police Department to face state drug-related charges and are in custody at the Kane County Jail with ICE detainers. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody pending deportation.

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Here are a few points I want you to consider:
We often hear that local police cannot get involved in immigration law enforcement because it would hurt “community policing.”  In point of fact, I can assure you that the community is safer for their efforts and the local residents of the communities in which these pernicious gang members lived and operated are happy to see that the cops and federal agents are helping them.
Janet Napolitano has maintained that the borders are safer now than ever before, however, simply deporting criminal aliens from our nation is not enough if they are able to easily turn around and run our borders.  Once these criminals are returned to Mexico, our government must make certain that all is done to prevent their reentry into our country.  The porous nature of our borders does not prevent aliens from violating our borders and making their way into our country.
Finally, it is good that 25 criminals have been arrested and that ultimately they will be removed from the United States.  HOWEVER it is currently estimated that there are more gang members in the United States than sworn police officers!  It is also believed that a major percentage of these gang members are aliens.  Arresting 25 bad guys is certainly better than not arresting any bad guys and the agents and police officers who carried out the investigations and arrests should certainly be commended for their efforts- but this 7 day operation should be a daily operation and there are literally hundreds of thousands more to be arrested!
Removing 25 criminals from the streets of Chicago is comparable to removing shovel-fulls of snow during a massive blizzard!
If the government wants to get the most “bang for its bucks” when it creates jobs, perhaps the administration should hire thousands of additional special agents for ICE and put them to work arresting illegal aliens, especially those engaged in gang activities and other criminal “enterprises!”
If the administration is really concerned about making our country and hence cities and towns safer, they need to do more than issue press releases!
There are currently about 7,000 special agents at ICE and more than half of them are engaged in investigating and enforcing violations of Customs laws which have nothing, whatsoever to do with immigration.  To put this in perspective, the NYPD has approximately 35,000 police officers just to protect the City of New York.  In previous years the NYPD had 40,000 officers and there is consternation among the police and others that New York will be less safe because of the reduced size of the police department.
8 million people live in the City of New York. 
Published statistics indicate that there are about 12 million illegal aliens in the United States.  I believe that in reality there are probably two or three times as many illegal aliens. as are claimed.  Yet the NYPD has about 10 times as many police officers to secure the safety of the folks who live, work and visit within the jurisdiction that they protect as there are ICE agents assigned to enforcing the critically important immigration laws!  Furthermore, the mission of the ICE enforcement personnel is not only to arrest illegal aliens but to conduct investigations into alien smuggling, into the production and selling of false identity documents (illegal immigration is a major factor for the ballooning criminal “industry” of identity theft).  Those agents are also supposed to make certain that there is integrity to the system by which aliens are provided with various immigration benefits such as the conferring of lawful immigrant status and United States citizenship upon aliens, seek to identify employers who intentionally hire illegal aliens and participate in various task forces such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (where I spent the final ten years of my career) and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). 
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

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our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!


The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.  I implore you to get involved!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-michael cutler- 


Please check out my website:

Additionally- this summer, on Friday afternoons from 4:00 PM until 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, I will be filling in for Tom Garcia as the host on The USA Talk Radio Network’s excellent radio show, “The American Hour.”


I hope you will be joining me on Fridays this summer!

Here is the link for this program:

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1109/110915chicago.htm


September 15, 2011
Chicago, IL

25 arrested in Chicago area during ICE operation targeting gang members


CHICAGO – Special agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in close
partnership with local law enforcement, arrested 25 individuals during a
week-long operation that ended late Tuesday. This is the latest local
effort in an ongoing national ICE initiative to target foreign-born gang
members.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, a
national initiative whereby ICE partners with other federal, state and
local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety
threat posed by transnational street gangs. Partnerships with local law
enforcement agencies are essential to the success of Operation Community
Shield.

The multi-agency operation was conducted Sept. 6 through 13. Arrests
were made in the following Illinois communities: Aurora, Barrington,
Chicago, Elgin, Joliet, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Romeoville. All
of the 25 male Mexican nationals arrested are members or associates of
the following street gangs:  Latin Kings, Vice Lords, Satan Disciples,
Latin Saints, Party People, and Sureño 13. They range in age from 18 to
35.

Nearly all of those arrested (22 individuals) have criminal histories
that include arrests and convictions for a wide range of crimes
committed in the United States. Some of their convictions include drug
possession, aggravated assault, vehicle theft, battery, and concealing a
homicide.

Two were turned over to the Aurora Police Department to face state
drug-related charges and are in custody at the Kane County Jail with ICE
detainers. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody pending
deportation.

“Violent street gangs account for a burgeoning amount of crime in
Chicago and our surrounding communities,” said Gary Hartwig, special
agent in charge of ICE HSI in Chicago. “ICE HSI works in close
partnership with local law enforcement to identify these gang members
and remove them from the streets in the name of public safety.”

Following are two arrests from this operation:

  • A 29-year-old Sureño 13 gang member and U.S. permanent resident
    whose criminal convictions make him deportable. He has criminal
    convictions for burglary, attempted possession of a controlled
    substance, and concealing a homicide. During his arrest in Aurora, ICE
    HSI agents found hypodermic needles used to inject heroin and turned him
    over to the Aurora police department on state charges of possession of a
    narcotic instrument. An immigration detainer was issued and he will be
    turned over to ICE for deportation once the state charges are completed.
  • A 27-year-old member of the Vice Lords and U.S. permanent resident
    with criminal convictions for drug possession, battery, domestic battery
    and DUI, which make him deportable. He was arrested in Joliet and is in
    ICE custody pending deportation.

ICE was assisted in the operation by the police departments of the
following Illinois communities: Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Palatine, Rolling
Meadows, and Romeoville.

Since the launch of Operation Community Shield in February 2005, ICE
and its partners have arrested more than 23,600 gang members and
associates, representing more than 1,800 different gangs.

These apprehensions include more than 11,900 criminal arrests and
more than 11,600 administrative immigration arrests. Of these, more than
270 arrests were of gang leaders, and more than 8,900 of the arrested
suspects had violent criminal histories. Through this initiative, ICE
has also seized more than 2,300 firearms.

As part of the effort, ICE HSI’s National Gang Unit identifies
violent transnational criminal street gangs and develops intelligence on
their membership, associates, criminal activities and international
movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations. Transnational
street gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members and are
frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration
violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE’s 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov


You may also visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or access this news release on your mobile device.

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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