Cheat-Seeking Missles

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Tough Gangs And Tough Borders

Proof of how important it is for the Cornyn/Kyl amendment to pass, so convicted felon illegals can be more easily and quickly deported, can be found in El Salvador.

WorldPress.org carries a story on the explosive growth of violent gangs in Central America and places the blame on US immigration policy which does, even without Cornyn/Kyl, lead to the deportation of felons. The deportees typically came to America as young children, accompanying parents who entered the U.S. illegally.

They lived in places like L.A., where they were vulnerable to the recruiters from street gangs, and they've learned the trade well.
U.S. deportation policies aggressively send undocumented gang members back to their home countries in Central America. They export U.S. gang culture and hardened criminals to countries whose internal security forces are ill-equipped to deal with the new threat. The street gangs have rapidly grown beyond being just a neighborhood problem to presenting a real national security threat in these countries.

Criminal deportees bring tactics, organization, and other criminal skills learned in U.S. prisons. These abilities translate into more sophisticated networks that have created a web that spans across Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Over time this network has made some links with organized crime, acting at times like foot soldiers to help with smuggling, assassination, and other duties.
Tough break for Central America, but these gangsters show how imporant it is to get a grip on immigration. If the borders had been tighter 20 years ago, they wouldn't have come to LA and wouldnt' have learned the criminal trade.

And if the borders are tight now, they will be travelling in one direction only: Out. As it is, they're going back and forth, organizing, criminalizing, terrorizing.

hat-tip Latin American Atlas via Power Line News
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