Free Republic

The passengers -- 105 men shackled at the wrists and the ankles--grumbled their assent. Then they peered out the thick, blurry windows for a last glimpse of Virginia. Once, they had been hopeful newcomers to the United States. Now, they were about to leave for good on a deportation flight. Jose de Jesus Galea, 37, stared morosely out his window, unmoved. The burly Salvadoran pet store owner had called Virginia home for 21 years. It seemed incredible, he said later, that he would never again see the flat, forested landscape that was receding rapidly from view. Just as strange was...

Dueling immigration hearings Wednesday in San Diego will present opposite portrayals of illegal border-crossers: Congressional testimony will center on terrorists and criminals, while immigrant testimonials will beg compassion for illegal immigrants. Border-area law enforcement officials are likely to testify in the congressional hearing Wednesday that terrorists, drug cartels and gangsters are crossing the porous southern border in increasing numbers to harm Americans. Most witnesses have given similar statements to Congress before. A later counter-hearing by human-rights activists at a San Diego public park will offer testimonials about how immigration enforcement policy is costing the lives of people who are determined...

Reputed gang members have been disappearing from the streets of South Florida. Four members of the Latin Kings in Broward, gone. The leader of a Mara Salvatrucha-13 crew in Lake Worth, nowhere to be seen. Members of Los Vatos Locos and 18th Street Gang, vanquished from the streets of Miami. On Friday, it was revealed why. LocalLinks During the past few weeks, authorities have rounded up 22 suspected gang members in South Florida as part of a national sweep that netted 375 gang members in 23 states. The initiative is part of Operation Community Shield, an anti-gang program aimed at...

America's Most Dangerous Gang Spreading from El Salvador to L.A. and across the United States, Mara Salvatrucha 13 is increasingly well organized and deadly. Within one hour, two people were found murdered miles apart in suburban Nassau County, N.Y. After an intensive investigation, police officials learned the murders were the work of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha 13. It also soon became apparent the gang was sending a bold message to its members and associates. That message: “If you are not loyal, you are dead.” But there was another message in the brutal slayings for the people of Long...

Deporting gang members triggers boomerang effect: Culture spreads across the Americas, winning recruits who see L.A. as the promised land. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Marlon Fuentes is a big man in his cell block at Honduras' largest prison. His face is tattooed. His talk is tough. He menaces with threatening stares. A gang member from Hollywood, Fuentes spends his time behind bars impressing Honduran "homies" with his exploits in California. He joined Los Angeles' infamous 18th Street gang when he was 12, was arrested for selling dope and brandishing a deadly weapon, then deported in 1995. Fuentes, 27, is the United...