Officers deport four non-U.S. gang members
In less than 24 hours, four validated Selma gang members who were living in the United States illegally were apprehended and deported to their homeland.Nearly a month after they were sent home, the four men have not returned to Selma.
"Normally, in a week they'd be back," said Police Chief Tom Whiteside. "The likelihood of these men coming back to our community is small."
Whiteside's confidence stems from the fact that the four gang members were deported thanks to Operation Community Shield, a national law enforcement initiative that fights against violent transnational street gangs.
Operation Community Shield was launched in February 2005 by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since its inception, ICE agents -- working in conjunction with hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide -- have arrested approximately 7,650 street gang members and associates, according to ICE. Of these, more than 2,550 had violent criminal histories.
Selma officers teamed up with six ICE agents and two ATF agents for their first Community Shield detail in February. Their goal was to find and apprehend violent gang members that were living in Selma illegally.
"It was a very precise, very orchestrated detail," said Selma Officer Perfecto Barbosa. "It wasn't just a free-for-all. We knew exactly who we were going for."
Barbosa said the police department had a list of validated Selma gang members who were in the country illegally and who had extensive criminal backgrounds that included such violations as assault with a deadly weapon.
The group of local and national officials used information they had obtained from previous arrests and contacts to find as many people on the list as possible.
"The operation went very smoothly," Barbosa said. "Our first arrest was made within the first 15 minutes of being out in the streets."
After about three hours on the detail, the officers had managed to find and arrest four dangerous foreign gang members. The gang members were then taken to an immigration office in Fresno where they went through an interview process to confirm that they were foreign nationals to the U.S.
Barbosa estimated that the four men were transported to their home countries within the following 10 hours, making the entire operation complete in less than a day.
"We were pleased with the swift ability of the team to get the job done," Whiteside said.
Gang members who are deported from the country through this program can face severe consequences if they return, including federal charges and prosecution if they keep re-entering the United States illegally.
"This stops the revolving door effect," Whiteside said. "They don't want to face federal prosecution. This is a new tool in ridding our community of violent gang members."
Whiteside emphasized that this program is not an immigration sweep.
"We don't take mothers, fathers, children and so on who are here illegally," he said. "We focus only on gang members."
The Selma Police Department plans to participate in similar details in the future as the need arises.
"When four gang members leave, there's always eight more to step in their place, so we're consistently monitoring that," Barbosa said. "If we find more (gang members) who are habitual law violators and foreign nationals, then we can definitely conduct another detail."
"It was a very precise, very orchestrated detail," said Selma Officer Perfecto Barbosa. "It wasn't just a free-for-all. We knew exactly who we were going for."
Barbosa said the police department had a list of validated Selma gang members who were in the country illegally and who had extensive criminal backgrounds that included such violations as assault with a deadly weapon.
The group of local and national officials used information they had obtained from previous arrests and contacts to find as many people on the list as possible.
"The operation went very smoothly," Barbosa said. "Our first arrest was made within the first 15 minutes of being out in the streets."
After about three hours on the detail, the officers had managed to find and arrest four dangerous foreign gang members. The gang members were then taken to an immigration office in Fresno where they went through an interview process to confirm that they were foreign nationals to the U.S.
Barbosa estimated that the four men were transported to their home countries within the following 10 hours, making the entire operation complete in less than a day.
"We were pleased with the swift ability of the team to get the job done," Whiteside said.
Gang members who are deported from the country through this program can face severe consequences if they return, including federal charges and prosecution if they keep re-entering the United States illegally.
"This stops the revolving door effect," Whiteside said. "They don't want to face federal prosecution. This is a new tool in ridding our community of violent gang members."
Whiteside emphasized that this program is not an immigration sweep.
"We don't take mothers, fathers, children and so on who are here illegally," he said. "We focus only on gang members."
The Selma Police Department plans to participate in similar details in the future as the need arises.
"When four gang members leave, there's always eight more to step in their place, so we're consistently monitoring that," Barbosa said. "If we find more (gang members) who are habitual law violators and foreign nationals, then we can definitely conduct another detail."
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