Federal anti-gang office will be permanent
Thursday, July 16, 2009
By: Andrew Dunn

Myrick lauds success of part-time unit, but says long-term plan will 'keep pressure on.

A permanent federal anti-gang office will open in Charlotte by the end of the summer, U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office takes over for a temporary unit established in 2005 that has partnered with local police to disrupt gangs originating in Latin American countries, particularly the Mara Salvatrucha 13, Surenos, Brown Pride, SUR-13 and Latin King street gangs.

That part-time unit has arrested 70 transnational gang members in the 2009 fiscal year. Myrick said that while it has been successful particularly in north Charlotte there needs to be more anti-gang enforcement in the area.

“You get rid of it in one place, and it pops up in another,” the Charlotte Republican said. “This gives them a long-term game plan to keep the pressure on all the time.”

In May, Myrick sent a letter to newly appointed ICE assistant secretary John Morton congratulating him on his new post and requesting a permanent anti-gang unit in Charlotte. Morton wrote back saying that after reviewing the city's need, ICE would create a full-time group.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has a small gang intelligence unit, which has worked with ICE in the past. Capt. Steve Willis, who leads the department, spent Wednesday learning about how the full-time office would affect gang prevention in Charlotte.

He said Charlotte has two different gang problems: “homegrown” gangs made up of people from the area, and other gangs mostly made up of people who brought their gang affiliations from California or Mexico.

The benefit of more ICE involvement is the ability to use immigration and customs laws to target the latter group, Willis said. ICE also will bring more law enforcement officers to combat all gang activity.

Myrick has been heavily involved in immigration issues. She has supported the 287(g) program which allows state and local officials to enforce federal immigration laws and legislation to bar illegal immigrants from admission to state-funded colleges and universities.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/835713.html