[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LOEFFLER (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. Cotton):
  S. 4238. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, relating to 
criminal street gangs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mrs. LOEFFLER. Mr. President, this spring, 14-year-old Janina 
Valenzuela was riding a bike with a friend in Marietta, GA, when she 
was killed as part of an initiation into an MS-13 gang. In 2016, 
Christopher Dean was brutally murdered by gang members in Atlanta. The 
D.A. called it ``the most horrific death'' in recent history. His 
murder left two children without a father. In 2010, 11-year-old 
Nicholas Sheffey was shot and killed sleeping in his bed during a 
drive-by shooting in Chamblee, GA. These are just three of the too many 
lives that have been lost, tragically cut short due to senseless gang 
violence.
  In Georgia, there are over 71,000 known gang members representing a 
variety of gangs, including the Ghostface Gangsters, an all-White gang 
in Georgia; the Gangster Disciples, which formed in Chicago and quickly 
spread to Georgia; and the Aryan Brotherhood, a White supremacy gang.
  Nationwide, there are more than 1.4 million members and 33,000 gangs 
across the U.S. According to the most recent National Gang Report, half 
of law enforcement officials reported that gang-related violence has 
increased in each of their jurisdictions. Thankfully, President Trump 
and Georgia leaders have taken strong action to address the rising tide 
of gang violence and to end the cycles of violence that they cause.
  For the first time ever, the Department of Justice has brought 
terrorism charges against a member of the MS-13 gang, taking action 
against their leader and 21 other gang members.
  Under the leadership of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney 
General Chris Carr, my home State of Georgia has led the way on 
confronting gang violence, passing legislation that gives prosecutors 
the tools they need to disrupt and dismantle these terrible gang 
networks.
  Today, I am introducing the Cracking Down on Gangs and Deporting 
Criminals Act to apply Georgia's anti-gang, pro-community measures 
across our country. This legislation, based on the Georgia law that 
Attorney General Carr has called ``one of the strongest statutes in the 
Nation,'' aims to deter and punish criminals who set out to destroy 
lives and communities. This includes violent crimes like the murders of 
Janina, Christopher, and Nicholas.
  In addition to violence, gangs run elaborate drug operations. One 
recent bust in Pickens County last month resulted in the arrest of 
nearly 50 individuals. Law enforcement confiscated nearly $2 million 
worth of methamphetamine from a drug ring run by three gangs.
  They deal in the abhorrent world of human trafficking. A study in San 
Diego County found that an astounding 85 percent of those involved in 
human trafficking were actively involved in gangs.
  Current Federal gang statute has three strict criteria that are 
difficult for prosecutors to meet in order to hold someone accountable 
for their participation in a street gang. The legislation I am 
introducing today will make it easier for Federal prosecutors to seek 
harsh sentences for gang activity. It will facilitate the removal of 
criminal gang members who are in our country illegally, and it would 
create a national gang database, making it easier to eradicate these 
gang networks.
  We need to take action now to take violent gang members off of our 
streets. Across the country, violence is skyrocketing in our cities, 
while radicals call to defund and abolish the police. The troubling 
decline in support for law enforcement, coupled with the effects of the 
pandemic and recent unrest, threatens the further spread of gang 
violence across communities in America.
  The Cracking Down on Gangs and Deporting Criminals Act will help keep 
our communities safe and support law enforcement in their work to root 
out gang activity. No family should have to go through what Janina, 
Christopher, and Nicholas did. Parents should be able to send their 
children outdoors and off to school without worrying that they won't 
make it home, and children shouldn't fear that their parents won't 
return home. It is time that we hold gang members accountable for their 
vile and evil actions and keep the American public safe
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