[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 182 (Thursday, September 21, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 44293-44294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20378]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 182 / Thursday, September 21, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 44293]]


                Proclamation 9641 of September 15, 2017

                
National Gang Violence Prevention Week, 2017

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Every day, innocent Americans are the victims of 
                terrible crimes perpetrated by violent gangs and 
                criminal cartels. During National Gang Violence 
                Prevention Week, my Administration pledges to restore 
                justice to American communities and keep evil off our 
                streets by eradicating the gangs that commit these 
                despicable acts.

                During the previous Administration, the number of gangs 
                and gang members reached an alarming 20-year high. In 
                2015 alone, homicides spiked by 17 percent in America's 
                50 largest cities--the largest increase in 25 years. 
                Gangs continue to evolve and adapt. Today they have 
                expanded to almost 1.5 million members nationwide who 
                perpetrate an average of 48 percent of violent crimes 
                in most jurisdictions and up to 90 percent in others. 
                My Administration will not stand by idly as these 
                menacing gangs threaten the safety and security of our 
                communities.

                Particularly, we must address the rise of violent 
                transnational criminal gangs, such as MS-13, that have 
                infiltrated our neighborhoods and recruited our 
                vulnerable young people. Weak border security, failure 
                to enforce immigration laws already on the books, and 
                sanctuary cities have emboldened criminals to enter the 
                United States illegally and enabled gang and 
                transnational cartel members to engage with impunity in 
                illegal human and drug trafficking, corruption and 
                fraud, and barbaric acts including violence, sexual 
                assaults, and murder.

                My Administration has pledged to identify and eradicate 
                transnational organized crime, gangs, and gang 
                violence. During my first 100 days as President, the 
                Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency led a 
                coordinated effort to capture more than 30,000 
                convicted criminal aliens, including more than 1,000 
                gang members and affiliates. Many of these arrests were 
                of immigration fugitives who had committed heinous acts 
                of gang violence: smuggling, sex crimes, arson, 
                extortion, or cruelty to innocent children. By 
                Executive Order, I also created the Council on 
                Transnational Organized Crime, which has been hard at 
                work coordinating Federal resources to better identify, 
                prosecute, and dismantle transnational criminal 
                organizations. As a result of these steps and the new 
                partnerships we have formed at all levels of 
                government, illegal border crossings have declined 
                drastically since I took office.

                The Congress has also indicated a willingness to 
                address this pressing issue. Yesterday, the House 
                passed H.R. 3697, the Criminal Alien Gang Member 
                Removal Act. My Administration strongly supports this 
                legislation. Once enacted, it will protect law-abiding 
                Americans by denying criminal alien gang members 
                admission into the United States and by giving law 
                enforcement more effective tools to remove them. I 
                encourage the Senate to act quickly to enact this bill 
                into law and help protect the safety of Americans.

                This week, let us rededicate ourselves to destroying 
                the criminal gangs that have plagued American 
                neighborhoods and communities for far too long. We owe 
                this to all those affected by gang violence and to all 
                who seek a brighter future.

[[Page 44294]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim the week of September 17 
                through September 23, 2017, as ``National Gang Violence 
                Prevention Week.'' I call upon the people of the United 
                States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies 
                and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                second.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2017-20378
Filed 9-20-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P