Officials say they all have ties to MS-13 street gang
By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff | September 1, 2007
Federal immigration officials said yesterday that they captured 36 alleged members or associates of the MS-13 street gang in a three-day sweep of Greater Boston this week, including one accused of murder.
Speaking for the first time since they launched the raids Tuesday, triggering fear and confusion in Chelsea, East Boston, and other immigrant enclaves, the federal authorities said they did not target noncriminal illegal immigrants, as some advocates have asserted. All of those detained are subject to deportation.
Matthew Etre, deputy special agent in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in Boston, said that 20 of the 36 immigrants arrested had criminal convictions and that another 14 immigrants were facing criminal charges or outstanding warrants.
Two juveniles were detained on immigration violations and released to their parents' custody. The rest, including one woman, are being held for deportation to El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, officials said. Most of this week's raids were in Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lynn, Revere, and Somerville. The raids were led by the immigration agency and included 12 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
"To say that we would go out and randomly pick up people is unfair," said Etre. "It's unfair to ICE, and it's unfair to the 80 law enforcement members who have participated in this operation."
None of the detainees were charged criminally in connection with the raids, Etre said, adding that it was not unusual in such cases. Local authorities who struggle to crack down on gang members often partner with the federal agency, he said, to use the immigration status of alleged gang members as a way to get them out of the country.
"When ICE gets involved, we're using our immigration and customs authorities to make an impact where maybe local law enforcement can't," Etre said.
However, because the 36 people were arrested because of their immigration status, federal officials refused to release their names. The agency's policy is to release the names of only those arrested on criminal charges, said spokesman Michael Gilhooly.
Immigrant-rights groups said this week that families told them the raids had resulted in the detention of several noncriminal immigrants.
One group said that at least seven Salvadorans were detained in Revere, Everett, East Boston, and Lynn, although they did not have criminal records. A lawyer with Greater Boston Legal Services said his office talked to a handful of people swept up in the raids, including at least one who did not have a criminal record.
Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, reiterated calls for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release the names of those detained.
"Until we see a full accounting of what ICE did from ICE's records and exactly the particular details of each case, we're going to stick with the community on this," said Noorani. "The proof is in the pudding, and ICE is holding the pudding."
Etre said the raids were part of Operation Community Shield, a national antigang initiative launched in 2005 that has led to the arrest of more than 5,000 alleged gang members and associates. Nationally, more than 3,500 of the 5,000 alleged gang members and associates were captured for deportation, while about 1,000 were arrested on criminal charges.
One particular gang target is MS-13, which traces its roots to El Salvador.
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