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Gangs: The Sixth Largest Military in the World
Posted by Randy | May 26, 2010

Much has been made recently in the news regarding Arizona’s new state immigration laws.  Unfortunately, not as much attention has been given to Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightower and Terrance Aeriel.  Each was a college student murdered execution style in a New Jersey schoolyard by an MS 13 gang member who slipped through the cracks of our failed immigration system.  This week, that gang member, Rodolfo Godinez, was found guilty on all counts. 

Gang activity has been directly linked to the narcotics trade, human trafficking, identification document falsification, violent maiming and assault, and the use of firearms to commit deadly shootings.  The Department of Justice estimates that there are over 25,000 gangs operating in the U.S. today.  In total, those gangs are made up of 850,000 gang members, which would comprise the sixth largest military in the world in terms of size.  According to the FBI, one-third of all gang-related homicides are committed by individuals under the age of 18. 

Tragedies like the one above are why I have introduced the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 2857), which is a comprehensive approach to increase gang prosecutions and prevent gang-related crimes. 

The bill provides increased federal funding to support federal, state and local law enforcement efforts against violent gangs. It also does the following: 

-          Enhances existing gang and violent crime penalties to deter and punish illegal street gangs.
-          Proposes violent crime reforms needed to prosecute effectively gang members.
-          Proposes to reform the federal juvenile justice system to authorize prosecution of 16 and 17 year old gang members who commit violent crimes. 

Share your thoughts in the comments section below on illegal alien gang members and what other actions we should be taking to prevent future tragedies like the one in New Jersey. 
Comments
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  • Samuel Provance commented on 5/26/2010
    Behind you all the way. It's about time we take a stand against gangs and the crimes they perpetrate.
  • mindy applewhite commented on 5/26/2010
    I am a senior probation/parole officer in va over a gang unit. I for one welcome any help we can get.
  • John Concannon commented on 5/26/2010
    To Rep. Forbes' FB webmaster: On the link with this posting the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 2857) has a bad link. It goes to H.R. 156 the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act of Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ-5).
  • Gwen Murtha commented on 5/26/2010
    MS-13 has a vicious reputation. I read a magazine article that told the story about how a faction cut off someone's head and played soccer with it. The sooner we chase them out of the country the better. Arizona did the right thing. Illegal aliens take up resources that they have no right to. Nobody is entitled to American citizenship.
  • William Birch commented on 7/16/2011
    CONGRESS - The largest gang in the world!
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