[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11995]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MS-13 AND IMMIGRATION

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, crime by illegal immigrant members of 
criminal street gangs is exploding. Immigration and Custom Enforcement 
has stated, ``The victims of gang crime are not limited to rival gang 
members. Entire neighborhoods are held hostage by and subjected to the 
violence of street gangs.''
  Currently alien members of criminal street gangs are not deportable. 
Many of the U.S. members of one of the international criminal gangs are 
present here under temporary protective status. MS-13 originated in El 
Salvador, complicating detention and deportation. A 1988 Ninth Circuit 
Federal Court injunction prevents expedited removal of Salvadorans due 
to a vicious civil war in this country. That civil war ended in 1992, 
and the injunction still remains. As a result, captured El Salvadorans 
are immediately released. In 2005, 40,000 Salvadoran illegals were 
apprehended. However, we currently estimated that for each individual 
caught, five cross our borders successfully.

                          ____________________