[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9785 of September 14, 2018

National Gang Violence Prevention Week, 2018

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Too many of our Nation's communities are afflicted by terrible and
senseless acts of violence committed by members of gangs and cartels.
Horrendous, criminal acts have become increasingly common in our cities
and towns where the notorious and savage MS-13 and other criminal gangs
operate. During National Gang Violence Prevention Week, my
Administration commits to continue its steadfast efforts to identify and
eradicate the gangs that spread bloodshed, murder our youth, and lay
siege to neighborhoods across our country.
While my Administration has successfully indicted and convicted
countless gang members, gang violence still destroys families and
threatens our liberty. When street gangs smuggle drugs into our
communities, violence, addiction, overdoses, and other criminal
activities follow. Extortion, sex trafficking, murder, robbery, and
witness intimidation are only some of the evils that trail in the wake
of gang activity.
Our brave law enforcement officers are fearlessly confronting gang
violence. They routinely and courageously fight criminal organizations,
even in the face of increasingly brazen, hateful attacks. The Department
of Justice is partnering with State, local, and tribal law enforcement--
including our Nation's 3,081 sheriffs--to bolster efforts to combat

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criminal gangs through comprehensive violent crime reduction
initiatives, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods. Additionally, it is
increasing the number of Federal prosecutors focused on gang violence
and is providing enhanced training on gang investigations to State and
local law enforcement agencies. Because of these efforts, we have
already seen tremendous success in prosecuting gang-based violent crime
and reducing the influence of criminal gangs.
I have also instructed my Administration to aggressively address
transnational criminal organizations, especially MS-13. Organized and
led from Central America, MS-13 has entrenched its claws in communities
from the East Coast to the West Coast. Its growing influence poses a
serious risk to our country's youth and community safety. Through
increased interagency efforts and the creation of collaborative task
forces that include both Federal agencies and State and local law
enforcement, we have made great strides in protecting our Nation's most
vulnerable communities from MS-13's violence and greatly diminished its
ability to recruit new members. Earlier this year, Operation Matador
demonstrated the success of these efforts, resulting in the indictment
of dozens of MS-13 gang members for Federal racketeering offenses.
While this progress is promising, the scourge of MS-13 and other
transnational criminal organizations will not abate until our Nation's
borders are fully secure and those who seek to harm us are no longer
able to exploit loopholes in our broken immigration laws. In the past
year, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has
arrested more than 4,800 criminal gang members, including nearly 796
arrests related to MS-13. We are grateful for the often dangerous work
ICE conducts each day to enforce the law, secure our border, and keep us
safe. The Congress must take action to protect public safety and
national security by providing the necessary resources to secure our
borders and close the dangerous loopholes in our laws that leave our
borders open to dangerous exploitation.
This week, we rededicate ourselves to dismantling, and ultimately
eradicating, criminal gang organizations, which threaten our way of
life. Let us strengthen our resolve to protect our communities from gang
violence and to ensure they are places where all Americans can live,
work, and raise their families. We also reaffirm our duty to support
members of law enforcement, who, every day, place their lives on the
line to protect and save anyone in need--be it family members, friends,
neighbors, or strangers.
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
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of September
16 through September 22, 2018, 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 fourteenth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
third.
DONALD J. TRUMP