[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
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

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too long. We owe this to all those affected by gang violence and to all
who seek a brighter future.
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.
DONALD J. TRUMP