Gangs and Crime in America: Mara Salvatrucha Street Gang: International Criminal Enterprise with Roots in El Salvador's Civil War - Cliques in the U.S., Organization, Membership, Violence, Rivalries

These excellent reports have been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The first report represents a compilation of information contributed by many federal, state, county, and city law enforcement and correctional officials published by ICE for the Department of Homeland Security. Mara Salvatrucha or MS is involved in exporting stolen cars from the U.S. to South America. The cars are often traded for drugs when dealing with cartels. It is estimated that 80% of the cars driven in El Salvador were stolen from the United States. Car theft is lucrative business for MS. The Mara Salvatrucha gang is also involved in a variety of Criminal enterprises. As with members of other gangs, MS members seem willing to commit almost any crime, but MS gang members tend to have a higher level of criminal involvement than other gang members. MS members have been involved in burglaries, auto theft, narcotics, extortion, murder, rape, witness intimidation, illegal firearms sales, car theft and aggravated assaults. In terms of drug trafficking activities, common drugs sold by MS members include cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine. Mara Salvatrucha gang members have even placed a 'tax" on prostitute and non-gang member drug dealers who are working in MS "turf." Failure to pay up will most likely result in violence.

The second report deals with the issue of unaccompanied alien children (UAC). After several years of increases, the number apprehended at the Southwest border by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) peaked at 68,541 in FY2014. Some Members of Congress as well as the Obama Administration have characterized the issue as a humanitarian crisis. The reasons why they migrate to the United States are often multifaceted and difficult to measure analytically. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has analyzed several out-migration-related factors, such as violent crime rates, economic conditions, rates of poverty, and the presence of transnational gangs. CRS also has analyzed in-migration-related factors, such as the search for economic opportunity, the desire to reunite with family members, and U.S. immigration policies.