114 immigrants arrested in gang crackdown

October 1, 2008 01:40 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Federal agents arrested 114 immigrants in Massachusetts -- most of them here legally -- in the past four months as part of a nationwide crackdown on violent street gangs.

Nationwide 1,759 people were arrested in 28 states. Nearly 1,500 of those arrested were gang members or associates; the rest were detained for immigration violations. All are subject to deportation.

Federal officials today called on police and other authorities to cooperate with their efforts to curb gang activity.

“I strongly urge local law enforcement to come to ICE with information and intelligence about gang members and criminal aliens in their communities and we will help to make their streets safer by removing dangerous criminals,” Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office of investigations in Boston, said in a statement.

Immigrant activists have protested the effort, saying federal officials are also rounding up hard-working men and women for minor crimes, not hard-core offenses. As a result, they are losing their green cards and facing deportation.

The arrests are part of Operation Community Shield, an effort launched in 2005 to pair federal immigration agents with state and local authorities to curb criminal street gangs. So far, ICE has arrested more than alleged 11,100 gang members and associates. However, only 3,997 have faced criminal charges, while another 7,109 have been charged with immigration violations and sent for deportation.