Immigrant Crime

MS-13 gang member sentenced to decades in prison for role in 2015 murder

A member of the violent MS-13 street gang was sentenced Monday to more than 22 years in federal prison for his role in the death of a gang associate suspected of being an informant. Jose Andrade, 27, also received three years of probation and will be subject to deportation to his native El Salvador upon completion of his sentence, according to federal prosecutors. Andrade, who went by the nickname “Inocente,” pleaded guilty in March to charges of racketeering conspiracy involving murder and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Prosecutors claimed Andrade was involved in planning the July 2015 murder in Lawrence of a teenager who was wrongly suspected by gang members of cooperating with law enforcement. Investigators said Andrade planned to take part in the killing himself, but could not do so because he was arrested the previous month. Authorities say that Andrade is one of 49 defendants who have been convicted as part of a crackdown on MS-13 by federal, state and local officials. Of those defendants, 16 have been found to have “committed or knowingly participated in murders.”

French: Why Illegal-Immigrant Crime Can Be Particularly Painful

Let’s begin by stipulating two things. First, so long as there is an immigration debate, there will be racists and political opportunists who latch on to isolated events to make broad, sweeping judgments to score political points and to increase ethnic tensions in the United States. Second, any given family’s response to tragedy will be as varied and diverse as American families are varied and diverse. There is no playbook for grieving. At the same time, however, there are reasons why illegal-immigrant crime can carry a poignant punch among people of good will. The murder of Mollie Tibbetts or Kate Steinle can be particularly hard to take because of a simple, anguished declaration. The murderer wasn’t supposed to be here. I’m reminded of the pain that people feel when, for example, they find out (in different crimes) that the police didn’t follow up on a lead or a prisoner was wrongly released on parole. The feeling is palpable. This person wasn’t supposed to be on the streets. In the immigration context, that pain is magnified because Americans know that for years immigration enforcement has been lax. Sanctuary-city policies seem designed to draw unlawful immigrants. Even the very idea of stricter border enforcement is deemed racist by some. While no border can be perfectly guarded, we can do better. We simply choose not to. Do you want more immigration? Let’s have that debate. Let’s decide the number of people we want in the country, and let’s make sure — as much as we can — that this number does not include people with known criminal histories. Americans know that no population is perfect. We know that a certain number of legal immigrants will commit crimes, just as a certain number of native-born Americans will commit crimes. But there is a difference between doing due diligence and no diligence at all. In fact, while it’s difficult to get precise data on the extent or rate of illegal-immigrant crime in this country, information from even the most illegal-immigrant-friendly sources shows that legal immigrants commit homicide at lower rates than illegal immigrants. Screening makes a difference. To an extent, Americans have “priced in” the existence of crime in this country. We know some neighborhoods are more violent than others. We know some behaviors are more risky than others. But we also know that there’s no way to live an entirely risk-free life. Crime will happen. But there are things that blow our risk calculus. There are things that can focus anger not just at the criminal who committed the crime but at larger failures that needlessly amplified the danger. Americans are completely justified in their anger when, say, the background-check system fails and a known criminal or mentally unfit person purchases a gun. That amplifies the pain and injustice of the shooting. Americans are justified in their anger when officials ignore warning signs or when people in authority turn away from domestic violence and a troubled person kills. The official failure magnifies the personal injustice. So they are also justified in their anger when officials make the choice not to effectively enforce existing law. They are justified in their anger when officials make the affirmative decision to do all they can to frustrate or defy existing law. They are further justified in their anger when the very plea to just enforce the laws passed by Congress and signed by the president is deemed to be nothing more than the hateful, desperate cry of a fading white majority. Again, none of this means that any given family will agree with this sentiment. There are indications that members of Mollie Tibbetts’s family don’t want her name in the national political conversation. We’ve seen grieving families take opposite sides of virtually every contentious issue surrounding crime and punishment. But it’s a profound mistake to listen to the grieving voices that reinforce your worldview and ignore the others — or to believe that the elevation of opposing voices is necessarily driven by bad faith. Porous borders have consequences, and one of those consequences is that a certain number of criminals will enter this country and do terrible things to its citizens. It is not racist or oppressive simply to ask that our government faithfully execute the laws of the land. Otherwise, there is no good answer to the next anguished family that asks a simple, heart wrenching question about the man who killed their child. Why was he here?

Yeah..  Attorney, and Army Reserve officer (Major), David French is responsible for that sobering op/ed.  David was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.  Thanks David..

Rapists, MS-13 Member Arrested After Illegally Crossing Texas Border

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector reported the arrests of numerous previously deported criminal aliens. Those arrested after illegally crossing the border included convicted rapists, child molesters, and an MS-13 member. One has an outstanding warrant in Harris County, Texas (Houston). The arrests occurred in six separate incidents along the Texas border with Mexico over a three-day span, according to information received from Border Patrol officials on Tuesday evening. The arrests occurred near the border communities of Hidalgo and La Joya. On Saturday, April 7, agents assigned to the McAllen Station arrested an Ecuadorian national near Hidalgo. The agents took the foreign national to the McAllen Station for processing where they discovered he had been previously deported following a 2nd Degree Rape conviction in New York City. Later that day, McAllen agents arrested a Mexican national after he illegally crossed the border near La Joya. After taking the man to the station for processing, agents learned that a Clatsop County, Oregon, court previously convicted the Mexican national for two counts of rape. He received a sentence of five years in prison and a 10-year probation. One day earlier, agents captured another Mexican national near Hidalgo. A records check revealed that a Texas court in Dallas County convicted the Mexican national for “indecent liberties with a child.” He received a 5-year probated sentence. Later that day, agents working near La Joya arrested a Salvadoran national after he illegally crossed the border. Officials confirmed he is a known member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). On Thursday, April 5, agents assigned to the Weslaco Station arrested a Mexican national who illegally crossed the border near Hidalgo. After conducting a biometric background investigation, agents learned that an Indiana court in Tippecanoe convicted the man for sexual misconduct with a minor and sentenced him to 18 months in state prison. All of these men face federal charges for immigration violations. Those who were previously deported could face up to 20 years in prison for aggravated re-entry after removal as a convicted felon.

Illegal immigrant from Mexico pleads guilty to using fake identity to steal $361,000 in government benefits

A Mexican national has confessed to stealing the identity of an American citizen, and over the course of 37 years pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in government benefits. Andres Avelino Anduaga, 66 – who hails from Tijuana, Mexico – admitted in San Diego federal court on Thursday that he assumed the fake identity of a Texas resident named Abraham Riojos in 1980 after obtaining a fraudulent birth certificate, and then successfully applied for a California driver’s license, Social Security number and passport. From 1989 to 2016, according to the plea agreement, he received around $361,000 in benefits — which included Medi-Cal, food stamps and Supplemental Security Income benefits. The fake identity also enabled Anduaga – identified as an illegal immigrant and repeat felon – to go back-and-forth without restriction between Mexico and the United States, which he was alleged to have been doing multiple times per week. ”The programs that this defendant stole from – for decades – provide benefits to America’s most needy. This prosecution demonstrates the commitment of the United States Attorney’s Office to protecting the integrity of our welfare programs and punishing those who prey on the goodwill of our nation and its taxpayers,” stated U.S Attorney Adam Braverman. Investigators also located the real Abraham Riojos, now residing in Florida, who said he had no indication that his identity had deceitfully been used for so long. Authorities have not made clear how Anduaga feigned the identity, but it is believed the two did not know each other and never made contact. Anduaga is required to pay back the full amount of government funds he fraudulently received, and faces twelve years behind bars and additional fines. Sentencing is slated for May 29.

That’s the very least he should get!  He should pay back ALL of the money WITH interest, and then yes, he should be slapped with a fine and jail time.  What a piece of garbage!  Glad he was finally caught.   But, it shouldn’t have taken 37 years!!  He was a repeat felon and illegally crossed our border multiple times….per week!  This is our hard-earned tax dollars being stolen, folks.  And, it takes the feds 37 years to finally catch this loser? Really?!?  Unreal…

2 DACA recipients arrested over suspicion of human smuggling: report

Two Dreamers who were living in the U.S. under the Obama-era DACA program were arrested last week on suspicion of human smuggling in separate incidents, federal officials reportedly said. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday that one of the men was in the country under the program and the other’s program had expired. The report said that one incident occurred last Wednesday when a resident near Torrey Pines State Beach observed what looked like human smuggling. Border agents pulled over a vehicle and found the driver—who was the 20-year-old DACA recipient whose status expired. He reportedly admitted to smuggling after two Mexican nationals in the country illegally were found in the car. In a separate incident, a 22-year-old Mexican national, a DACA recipient who lives in Riverside, was allegedly caught scouting an area for smugglers in Campo, Calif. Both suspects are in custody.

DHS, DOJ: More than 70 Percent of Terror-Related Convicts in U.S. Are Foreign Born

U.S. federal courts have convicted at least 549 individuals of “international terrorism-related charges” between 9/11 and the end of 2016, including 402, or 73 percent, who are foreign-born, reveals a new report issued by the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS). The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, a component of DHS charged with enforcing American immigration laws within the country, removed 1,716 aliens over “national security concerns” since September 11, 2001, notes the assessment. While briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, a Trump administration official said of the ICE removals linked to national security threats: “This is an important statistic to highlight because it’s not always the case that seeking a criminal conviction in our federal courts to be an ideal outcome to protect our national security and certain national interests. It could be the case that our sources and methods are such that we cannot disclose them or perhaps in some of these cases it’s more ideal to remove the individual through our civil immigration system and get the [individual] out of the continental United States and back to where he or she came from.” DHS and DOJ issued the assessment of terrorism-related activity data in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13780: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. “There were 549 individuals convicted of international terrorism-related offenses in U.S. federal court. Of that 549, roughly three out four — 73 percent — were foreign-born,” revealed the anonymous Trump administration official. In a press release announcing the report, DHS and DOJ further explained: ” Breaking down the 549 individuals by citizenship status at the time of their respective convictions reveals that: 254 were not U.S. citizens; 148 were foreign-born, naturalized and received U.S. citizenship; and,147 were U.S. citizens by birth.”

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MS-13 spreading across US as AG Sessions vows to take down gang

Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week promised to deal with the brutal street gang MS-13 in the same way that “we took Al Capone off the streets.” Amid a series of gruesome, high-profile murders across the United States, MS-13 has become a major focus of President Trump’s Justice Department. But dismantling the gang, whose numbers are estimated to be around 10,000 nationwide, is no easy task: MS-13 has infiltrated communities across the country – and throughout Central America – since its formation in 1980s Southern California. “MS-13 functions like all immigrant organized crime groups. They start by targeting their own community,” Lou Gentile, a former officer at the Organized Crime Unit of the Pennsylvania State Police and founder of investigative firm CSI, told Fox News. “MS-13 preys on their own, they exploit their own.” Click here to see some of the states and regions hardest hit by MS-13 in recent years: