And Customs Enforcement and rob herr, principle attorney general to talk about the department of Homeland Security and department of justice are doing to eradicate criminal organizations like ms13. Mr. Herl will speak to the Justice Department first and mr. Will answer your questions. As always, i put out a friendly reminder to stay on topic. After that ill come back up to take your questions. Thanks, guys. Thanks, sarah. Good afternoon. My name is robert herr. About five weeks ago i was sworn in as the principle associate Deputy Attorney general at the department of justice. In that role i serve as the principle advisor to the Deputy Attorney general. I appreciate the chance to talk to you about the Justice Departments aggressive efforts to achieve this administrations goal of dismantling the transNational Gang known as ms13. As you all know the president is traveling to long island tomorrow to talk about our fight to eradicate the violent threat of ms13. And as we speak the attorney general is in el salvador where he will spend the next two days addressing the root of this problem. The san salvadorian prisons that house the leaders of this gang. While there the attorney general will meet with members of the Justice Departments transnational Antigang Task Force on the ground in el salvador and the attorneys general from the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras to discuss joint efforts to disrupt and take down ms13. Earlier in my career i served as a federal prosecutor in maryland where i personally prosecuted a number of ms13 racketeering cases. These included capital cases in which the defendants crimes were so violent and heinous that the government saw fit to pursue the death penalty. Through these prosecutions i learned firsthand from the victims their grieving and heartbroken families and other members of terrorized Communities Just what a scourge this group of thugs really is. This gangs chilling motto is [ speaking in a Foreign Language ] which means kill, rape and control. They seek to live up to this motto through truly shocking acts of violence designed to instill fear. Vicious ma chet tshet machete a rape and human trafficking. They use whatever they can get their hands on, guns, knives, machetes, baseball bats, tire irons, fists or feet. Not just inflikt violence. They use violence to shock, send a message and control territory here in the u. S. And in Central America. The attorney general has answered the president s call. And we at the Justice Department are moving forward aggressively against ms13. Specifically, pursuant to the president s direction and executive orders, the attorney general has directed the departments Law Enforcement agencies, atf, dea, fbi and the Marshal Service as well as federal prosecutors across the country to prioritize the prosecution of gang members, specifically ms13. The attorney general has issued charging guidance regarding Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement, both of which directly target ms13 members and their associates. In addition, the department of justice has requested funding for 300 more federal prosecutors to focus specifically on Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement. Weve also prioritized multiagency and cross border collaboration in order to attack ms13 from all angles. The Justice Department and the department of Homeland Security are coordinating our antigang efforts to ensure that we bring both criminal and immigration laws to bare in the fight against transNational Gangs. We continue our critical partnerships with state and loc local Law Enforcement around the country whose brave men and women are truly on the front lines of the fight against ms13. We work hand in glove with our partners in the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras. They are helping us take the fight to ms13 on its home turf. It speaks volumes that the attorney general himself has traveled to the nerve center of ms13 and is standing in solidarity with our partners in Central America. Indeed, earlier today just hours ago el salvadorian prosecutors announced they have filed charges against and arrested over the past 36 hours hundreds of members of ms13 in el salvador. Many of the defendants are members of ms13s click who are centered in the la Paz Department of el salvador. Earlier this year members of this ms13 clique committed several high profile murders in el salvador. The shooter of these murders fled to the United States and is now in i. C. E. Custody pending proceedings. This prosecution showcases just how closely we are working with our partners in el salvador to combat ms13. Specifically, u. S. Law enforcement agents with i. C. E. Who are on the ground in el salvador are coordinating with their counterparts here in the u. S. To ensure that the shooter is removed from the United States as quickly as possible to face charges in el salvador. This investigation is being handled by salvadorian gang prosecutors trained and mentored by embedded doj prosecutors in el salvador and salvadorian Police Officers who were trained and mentored by the fbi and advisors from the state department. At the request of salvadorian prosecutors, the Justice Department has also arranged to have an essential witness to the murders transported to el salvador for court proceedings. United states Law Enforcement and federal prosecutors recently targeted leaders and members of the same clique operating here in maryland, charging 16 defendants with racketeering offenses involving murder and attempted murder, the last of whom was sentenced this year to life imprisonment. These are very significant b blows to ms13 and are made possible by our close cross border coordination. Weve also revitalized the Institutional Hearing Program which brings Immigration Judges to bureau of prisons facilities to adjudicate the immigration status of federal criminal alien inmates while theyre incarcerated. This results in much quicker deportation after these criminals serve out their prison sentences here in the United States. Finally, we are also holding sanctuary cities accountable for their lawless conduct. The attorney general will not allow sanctuary cities to become sanctuaries for criminals. Earlier this week the attorney general announced new grant conditions. Cities and states may only receive burn jag grants if they comply with federal law, allow federal immigration officials access to detention facilities and provide 48 hours notice before they release an illegal alien wanted by federal authorities. Taking on ms13 is a top priority of this administration and this Justice Department. We will not tire. And we will not fail. Im humbled to once again be in a position to work to reduce and ultimately decimate this gang to make our communities safe for all americans. Thank you. Good afternoon. Im tom homan, acting director of u. S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement known as i. C. E. Targeting members of violent street gangs sends a clear message to criminal enterprises around the world, you are not welcome in the United States and youll find no harbor here. President trump made a priority to get these criminals off our streets and when possible out of our country, thats exactly what the men and women of i. C. E. Are going to do. Every single day to help keep america safe. I. C. E. s Homeland Security investigation known as hsi, National Gang unit, leads our efforts along with our deportation officers to identify and arrest gang members while working to dismantle the organizational structure that supports them. Gang members are involved in a broad range of criminal activity including murder, extortion, narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes Border Security. Since the beginning of january this year i. C. E. Homeland security investigation has already arrested 3,311 gang members across the country, a number of targeted operation. Ill speak just about two. Project new dawn. A recent gang surge led by i. C. E. Hsi netted 1,378 gang arrests. Operation matador up in new york state since may 9th has netted over 100 gang members and affiliates, vast majority of ms13 members. Make no mistake organized violent transNational Gangs threaten the safety of our communities, not just in major metropolitan areas but in our suburbs like Suffolk County in new york, where ill be joining the president tomorrow to discuss this very issue. Let me share just a couple examples that demonstrate the violence of these criminals. Recently two ms13 members who were juveniles arrested as part of operation matador have been implicated in the quadruple homicide of four young adults in new york. Additional ms13 arrest admitted to being complicit in homicide of two juvenile females. Multiple arrests have led to admissions of narcotics trafficking, weapons smuggling and intelligence and other unsolved crimes in the region. The proliferation of ms13 remains an ongoing challenge for Law Enforcement everywhere. Our efforts to eradicate gangs such as this are much more effective in areas where our partnership with local Law Enforcement is the strongest. As i said, the last time i was here, i cannot stress enough our operations are more effective when there are strong local partnerships supporting them. Sanctuary city policies only make it more difficult if not impossible for i. C. E. To remove known gang members and other criminal alien who is are removed from this country without the opportunity to commit additional crimes. As i said when i was here at the podium a month ago, cooperation is critical. It is often state and local Law Enforcement, not i. C. E. , that first come into contact with transNational Gang members. Together through partnership we can keep our streets safe. Together our gang is bigger than theirs. In addition to making our communities safer, the intelligence gathered from operations targeting ms13 helps our agents and investigators continue their efforts to fully dismantle these global criminal enterprises from the command and control structure in el salvador to the street members walking our communities and everybody in between. In closing, ill say this, the progress were making would not be possible without the brave and dedicated men and women of i. C. E. These are professionals. American patriots who leave the safety of their homes and their families every day to help keep us safe, to keep people safe theyll never meet. And i am honored and proud to represent them here today. With that ill take questions. Sir. Thank you. Theres been ms13 activity, and when they had prosecuted from there, they have said that the members of ms13, some of them are citizens. And to get help from the immigrant community where they are being where theyre plaguing, the plague is on the immigrant community, that they have not been successful because theyre afraid of being taken out of the country, that youre going to deport them. So for those in the immigrant community who are being taken advantage of, are you going to offer any type of support for those who are not involved in ms13 who come forward to assist Law Enforcement because local Law Enforcement says thats the largest problem they have in getting people to come forward. They think theyre going to be deported. Well, you all can help with that message, right . I mean, the mismessaging that i. C. E. Is out doing neighborhood raids and roadblocks and things we were being accused of doing, we got to get the message straight. I. C. E. Prioritizes arrests based on criminal threats, National Security, those that violate immigration laws. However, if theyre a victim, were not looking for victims or witnesses. I believe ms13 they victimize the communities in which they lif. So if the immigrant community is being victimized, they dont want them to be in the community either. They should be safe to dpo to Law Enforcement and report the crime. Again, we dont target victims of crime. As a matter of fact, theres actually benefits to victims of crimes through the immigration process. They should feel safe to go and report criminal activity. Were going to target the most violent criminals, not the witness, not the victims, to remove them. We need their help. We need the communitys help. Most importantly we need local Law Enforcements help. Especially county jails that will have an ms13 booked in that county jail, but that county jails located in a sanctuary city, they get released back to the streets. Thats what we need to change. We need cooperation from local Law Enforcement. But youre saying pointblank maam. Youre not going to take advantage of the immigrant communities who are victims, right . Taking advantage of immigrant communities the victims are not going to be deported. We need the immigrant community to assist us in identifying the most heinous criminals of ms13. Its the most violent gang out there. Ill say this again, if theres a victim of crime and they come forward, were not looking to arrest a victim of crime. Were looking to arrest the bad guy, right . Now, let me make this clear, theres a population of illegal aliens are off the table, im not saying that, but victims of crime have certain protections and they need to take full advantage of their protections. Maam. Thank you. Do you have a count for actually how many people ms13 in cities across the country . And what has the reaction been from sanctuary cities to the new policy that was announced earlier this week by the attorney general . And if you could speak broadly about obviously the president s been very critical of the attorney general he is overseeing everything youre talking about, has that criticism in any way impacted the federal Law Enforcement to do their jobs . Thats a lot of questions. I can tell you thousands of ms13 members in the country. That number changes every day depending on who we deport and who sneaks in the country. As far as sanctuary cities, i dont know how they feel about recent actions taken by doj. But ill say once again, sanctuary cities are criminals biggest friend. If youre an alien smuggler and youre smuggling people in this country for a living, that is one sales pitch we can get you sanctuary city where that city will help shield you from immigration. So, you know, ive said it, every time i speak i say sanctuary cities need to help us keep the community safe. Sanctuary cities not only danger Public Safety, they endanger my Law Enforcement officers because when we cant get violent criminal out of jail, rather than arresting a violent criminal in the safety, security and privacy of a county jail, we got to go knock on a door, we have to arrest in the community, the community is put at risk, officers are put at risk, and the alien himself is put at risk. We have to start thinking about Public Safety and the men and women of i. C. E. , the men and women of Border Control who weve lost many in the last few years at the hands of violent criminal aliens. We got to join forces with these cities. The cities have to come through for us. They have to work with us to keep our community safe. Sir. What was the question, attorney general . The fact that the president s been criticizing him recently, has that in any way impacted your ability, federal Law Enforcements ability to do their job . I. C. E. Will do our job and continue to enforce law. The attorney general is a strong supporter of immigration enforcement, so is the president. And ill end it there. I can tell you nothings going to change the way we do our business. The men and women of i. C. E. Are professionals. Were going to keep enforcing the law within the orders of the executive order. Sir. The administration prioritize gangs. Are you telling the country now that it didnt . If youre not, what is different about your approach as compared to the previous administrations approach with ms13 and those gangs like it . I can tell you that the Prior Administration prioritized interests, not National Security threats. For those aliens booked in county jail, on the Prior Administration they needed a conviction before we could put a detainer on them before we could put them in our custody. Thats not necessary anymore. If youve been arrested for a serious crime in county jail, were going to drop container, take person into custody. What does that mean dropping detainer . Were asking local jurisdiction to hang onto them until we can take custody of them when theyre done with you. Is that proven effective . Yes. I think we have more jurisdictions coming to the table now. Th