ICE chief warns MS-13 that his ‘gang is bigger’

The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement delivered a stark warning to MS-13 on Wednesday: “My gang is bigger.”

Thomas Homan told The Daily Caller that ICE Homeland Security Investigations “targets many gangs.” But the agency’s investigative arm is focusing heavily on MS-13, because “they seem to be the most violent right now and they think they can act with impunity,” he said. 

“We’re taking this seriously. My gang is bigger than theirs, and we are going to take them out,” Homan said. “That’s the goal. The president supports that. We’re going to follow through on the president’s promise and we are going to take out MS-13 as much as we can.”

{mosads}The U.S. has been involved in enforcement efforts related to MS-13 since at least 2004. But those efforts have gained a higher profile under President Trump, who has vowed to crack down on gang activity, particularly among undocumented immigrants.

ICE HSI arrested more than 8,000 gang members and associates between fiscal 2016 and June 4, ICE HSI Acting Associate Executive Director Derek Benner told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

Among those were 602 MS-13 members, Benner said in his written testimony.

MS-13 formed in the Salvadoran immigrant community in Los Angeles in the 1980s. And while the gang’s leadership is primarily based now in El Salvador, it has a sizable presence across the U.S.