The very first sentence of the U.S. Constitution sets as a goal to “insure domestic Tranquillity” for the American people. Protecting us from criminal elements in our midst is a key to preserving the peace. But over the past few years, law enforcement across the country has been fighting a particularly violent criminal gang known as MS-13.
President Trump’s visit here last week highlighted the danger of the gang, and the very real threat it poses to the public peace on Long Island. The president’s focus on MS-13 is not misplaced; it’s right on target. And when he and others refer to its members as “animals,” they’re not exaggerating much.
MS-13 members are notorious for the viciousness of their crimes. They take violence to new extremes. Trump chaired a round-table, along with U.S. Rep. Peter King, and as one participant put it, comparing the gang’s members to animals isn’t fair to animals. Animals, he pointed out, kill for survival, but MS-13 gangsters often kill just for thrills.
They are recruited from some of the most violent countries in Latin America. They mostly come from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, all failing states that harbor gangs and widespread narcotics trafficking. Over the past few years the gang has infiltrated the U.S. in large numbers. As many as 30,000 to 50,000 young men belong to MS-13, scattered among various countries, with 8,000 to 12,000 of them spread across the U.S., from New York to Houston to Los Angeles. With a major presence on Long Island, MS-13 members have terrorized our communities and overwhelmed law enforcement’s efforts to contain them.
To put this threat in perspective, it’s useful to compare MS-13 with another vicious group that terrorized the world until its recent series of defeats. At its height, the Islamic State, or ISIS — which managed to seize control of a large swath of Iraq and Syria — was estimated to have numbered 35,000. That’s smaller than MS-13. And comparing the extreme crimes perpetrated by the two groups is chilling. ISIS became infamous for bloody executions, including beheadings. MS-13 brutally executes its victims, often with swords and knives. ISIS engaged in horrific human trafficking, including forcing women into sexual slavery and children into combat. MS-13 likewise terrorizes women and children, coercing women into prostitution and compelling young boys to become gang members, often in return for smuggling them into the U.S.