The Biden-Harris administration is catching fewer international criminal gang members in 2024 compared to previous years under former president Donald Trump, and Newsweek spoke with experts about the intricate details.
CBP data gives a breakdown of the most notorious gangs that plague the country as a wave of new crime syndicates wreak havoc on the United States, including Tren de Aragua (TdA) and MS-13.
Border security and immigration policies are highly salient in the 2024 presidential election, as Vice President Kamala Harris goes toe-to-toe with her Republican opponent in November’s vote.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, apprehensions of gang members crossing U.S. borders have decreased, a stark contrast to the figures seen during former President Donald Trump’s tenure. This could be attributed to the fall in border crossings following President Joe Biden‘s sweeping executive action.
A peak in gang member apprehensions was seen in FY2019, with 976 arrests, with a decline in FY2020 and FY2021. But the following years have seen a steady decline in arrests.
In the U.S., the federal government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous year and ends on September 30 of the following year.
In 2022, Border Patrol caught 751 gang members nationwide; this dropped to 639 in 2023 before plummeting to 478 in 2024.
Taylor Rogers, RNC Spokesperson, told Newsweek: “Kamala Harris’ policies are a dream come true for criminal illegal immigrants.
“President Trump will reverse this madness and launch the largest deportation operation in history on Day One.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
Mariano Sana, associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, told Newsweek: “I would not look for a political explanation for any trend there. The Biden administration has had different priorities than the Trump administration when it comes to asylum seekers, but not when it comes to dangerous individuals.
“We can see that the numbers of apprehensions of gang-affiliated border-crossers went down significantly during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021. (Since the FY runs from October 1 to September 30, FY 2020 was entirely under Trump and almost three-quarters of FY 2021 was under Biden.)
“The pandemic depressed all kinds of activities, including border crossings in general, so that decline must have been the result of the first possibility: border crossings declining for the whole period 2017-2024 because those numbers are specifically about gang-affiliated individuals.”
Under President Joe Biden, there have been changes in border security and immigration policies compared to the more hardline approach of the Trump administration.
Biden’s sweeping executive orders, which have led to border crossings plummeting, are one factor influencing the decline in apprehensions of gang members.
Sana said: “A declining trend in border encounters and apprehensions (of any type of individuals, including the gang-affiliated) indicates one of two things: that crossings by those individuals are declining, or that CBP is becoming less efficient in apprehending those it should apprehend.”
Tren de Aragua
The U.S. Border Patrol league table shows a shift in gang dynamics.
Emerging groups like TdA, a transnational criminal organization formed in a Venezuelan prison, are gaining traction within the criminal landscape of gang activity.
TdA has been making headlines across the country after a viral video showed armed gang members storming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.
Former president Donald Trump claimed that the town was “overrun” by gang members; however, the allegation was denied by Aurora Mayor Michael Coffman, who described it as “exaggerated.”
“I’m not dismissing the concerns at all, but whatever happened initially, happened. What I can tell you now is that the gangs are not in control of either complex,” Coffman previously told Newsweek.
U.S. Border Patrol reported substantial apprehensions among TdA gang members in FY2023 (41) and FY2024 (23), indicating a rise in its activity in the U.S.
The group focuses on human trafficking and other abuses targeting vulnerable migrants. The gang is accused of smuggling women and girls for sexual exploitation.
According to a report by Telemundo, the gang is believed to have about 5,000 members and rakes in annual profits between $10 and $15 million.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is offering a $5,000 bounty for information that leads to the arrest of members of the notorious Venezuelan gang.
Abbott signed a proclamation designating the gang as a foreign terrorist organization on September 16.
Paisas
Paisas, a gang that operates primarily in U.S. federal prisons, remains a significant threat, with 136 arrests in fiscal year 2024.
Sana said: “They are bound to be a bit volatile because of changes in the relevance/primacy of specific gangs, for example, MS-13 going down and Paisas going up, and because they are really small numbers in the large population of border crossers (less than 0.05%).
“This means that if in one specific year, a specific gang finds a more efficient method of crossing undetected (perhaps at a different point on the 2,000-mile border), the numbers of apprehensions may go down a lot, but we are still talking about, say, 100 or 200 people.
“A downward trend in this statistic, again, must be the result of fewer crossings or, for one reason or another, the Border Patrol has had a harder time encountering them. In short, I think this is a law enforcement issue, not a matter of immigration policy.”
Initially formed as a loosely structured group providing protection in prison, they have evolved into a more organized entity.
Outside of prisons, the Paisas have also been linked to drug trafficking activities.
Some reports suggest they originally formed as a rural militia in Colombia but later became independent, managing local drug routes and selling to larger criminal organizations such as the Zetas.
The gang has also been involved in criminal activities such as smuggling and violent crimes in the U.S.
The group has been growing in prominence, especially in regions near the U.S.-Mexico border, where their members have been apprehended for illegal entry into the country or other criminal offenses.
Earlier this year, in March, agents arrested two members of the Paisa Gang in New Mexico who unlawfully entered the country.
MS-13
MS-13, otherwise known as Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang mainly comprised of Salvadorans that tries to protect its power, territory, and profits through kidnapping, extortion, and murder.
They are one of the most notorious and violent criminal gangs in the world. Originating in the 1980s in Los Angeles, California, by refugees who were fleeing civil conflict in El Salvador, the gang has since expanded its influence throughout the U.S.
It became a transnational gang as MS-13 members who were deported from the United States to Central America helped establish gang ties and spread U.S. gang culture abroad.
MS-13’s structure largely consists of loosely organized cells, or “cliques,” that control specific territory.
Historically, MS-13 remains the most frequently apprehended gang, with a notable peak in FY2019 (464 apprehensions) before declining to 64 in FY2024. This suggests significant law enforcement action designed to dismantle the group and a shift in MS-13’s activities over time.
MS-13 was formed by Salvadoran immigrants who fled to the U.S. in the 1980s during the Salvadoran Civil War.
According to a previous statement by the Department of Justice, combating MS-13 has been a top priority” for the DOJ.
This indicates why there has been a drop in apprehensions among gang members in 2024.
There has been a string of high-profile grisly murders and violent crimes committed by the gang.
In 2021, two MS-13 gang members convicted of murdering a teenage girl in what was described as a satanic ritual in 2017 were sentenced to 40 years in prison.
An MS-13 gang member nicknamed “Little Devil” was sentenced to 50 years in prison after she lured a group of men into a Long Island park where they were hacked to death with machetes.
Sureños
In FY2024, border agents apprehended 52 members of the gang.
The Sureños were established in the 1960s in Southern California as part of a splinter group of the Mexican Mafia.
A rivalry formed between two major gang factions, the Sureños from Southern California and the Norteños from Northern California.
The Mexican Mafia wields significant power and influence within the Sureños. They provide the prison network and higher leadership, demanding loyalty and tribute from Sureño gangs in return for protection and influence within the prison system.
The rivalry between Sureños and Norteños is rooted in geographic and cultural tensions. While the Norteños claim territory north of Bakersfield, California, the Sureños operate primarily in Southern California and maintain a stronghold in Los Angeles.
They are not a single, unified gang. Rather, they consist of hundreds of smaller street gangs, or “cliques,” that operate independently but share common symbols, culture, and allegiance to the Mexican Mafia.
This has led to cases of infighting between different factions of the gang.
18th Street
The 18th Street Gang, also known as Barrio 18, is one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the world.
Originally formed in Los Angeles, California, the gang has grown into a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members spread across the United States, Mexico, and Central America.
The 18th Street Gang was founded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, initially as a small gang composed mostly of Mexican-American youths. Its name comes from 18th Street in the Rampart District of Los Angeles, where the gang was originally based.
Unlike many other Latino gangs at the time, the 18th Street Gang was notable for accepting members from various backgrounds, including Central Americans, African Americans, and Asians. This allowed the gang to grow its membership.
As the 2024 election approaches, the U.S. remains at a crossroads in how it handles gang-related crime. With a shift in gang dynamics, the next administration will face pressure to not only secure the borders but also dismantle evolving criminal syndicates.
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