Gang thugs in his sights
Sessions vows to destroy MS-13 on LI
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions visited Long Island Friday morning to deliver a warning to the MS-13 gang that has terrorized the area in recent years: “We are coming after you.”
In a speech to law-enforcement officials, politicians and press at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, the nation’s top prosecutor touched upon President Trump’s immigration reform and described the government’s mission to “devastate” street gangs like MS-13.
“The MS-13 mantra is kill rape and control, and so that should tell us enough about the kind of groups we confront,” Sessions said. “Our motto is justice for victims and consequences for criminals.”
“We are targeting you. We are coming after you,” he said, addressing the murderous gang.
MS-13, or the Mara Salvatrucha, began in Los Angeles in the ’80s with Salvadoran refugees as members, but it has spread internationally, especially in El Salvador.
It has been blamed for 11 deaths in Suffolk County since September, when friends Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, were found beaten and hacked to death in Brentwood.
Earlier this month, the badly beaten bodies of four men also believed to have been slain by MS-13 gangbangers were discovered in Central Islip.
Parents said that with gang territory extending into schools, kids are reluctant to leave home in the morning.
“Kids are losing their childhoods,” said Nisa’s aunt Jennifer Suarez. “You can see the stress on their faces as they get ready. It’s like, you know, they’re suiting up for battle.”
Kayla’s mother, Evelyn Rodriguez, added, “They can’t walk the halls without fear.”
Sessions on Friday pledged to send Justice Department officials to El Salvador to “try to make arrests to locate this at the source.”
His tough talk dovetailed with his comments on Trump’s immigration policy. Many gang members, including those with MS-13, are in the US illegally.
“We cannot allow this to continue. We will secure our border, expand immigration enforcement and choke off supply lines,” Sessions said. “We’ve got to dismantle these human-smuggling networks that have been effective in bringing people into this country illegally.”