President Donald Trump and members of his staff met with lawmakers and law enforcement officials Tuesday to discuss how to deal with the deadly MS-13 gang that has come across the border through Mexico.
Trump has been pushing Congress to go along with his immigration reform plan, which includes $25 billion to fund a border wall between Mexico and the United States, Newsday reported.
Trump also wants to eliminate family reunification visas and the current lottery program, which he has said allow criminals into the country, as well as offering a path to citizenship for 1.8 million people who were brought to the country illegally as children.
“We don’t have the wall, we’re never going to solve this problem, Trump said in the meeting, Newsday reported.
Republican New York Rep. Peter King said that the federal government needed to “do more” to deal with unaccompanied immigrant minors who are often placed with relatives until they can determine an immigration status, Newsday reported. He suggested fingerprinting the families and vetting them to determine whether they have gang ties. “If a foster child is placed with a family, there is more follow-up,” King said.
Trump said the MS-13 gang showed an unprecedented level of “ferocity” compared to other organized gangs, Newsday reported.
Alleged MS-13 gang members are responsible for numerous stabbing deaths in suburban parks, and hundreds of gang members have been arrested, The Washington Post reported.
MS-13 members continue to act out violently in jail as well, with prison administrators in locations like Prince George County jail in Northern Virginia attributing the majority of violent incidents to MS-13 members, The Washington Post reported.
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