....Several U.S. agencies have been actively engaged on both the law enforcement and preventive side of dealing with Central American gangs. The National Security Council (NSC) created an inter-agency task force to develop a comprehensive, three year strategy to deal with international gang activity. The strategy, which is now being implemented, states that the U.S. government will pursue coordinated antigang activities through five broad areas: diplomacy, repatriation, law enforcement, capacity enhancement, and prevention.
In the 110th Congress, immigration legislation has been introduced –
H.R. 1645 (Gutierrez),
S. 330 (Isakson), and
S. 1348 (Reid) – that includes provisions to increase cooperation among U.S., Mexican, and Central American officials in the tracking of gang activity and in the handling of deported gang members. The House passed version of the FY2008 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (
H.R. 2764; H.Rept. 110-197) would provide $8 million to the State Department to combat criminal youth gangs, an increase of $3 million from the Administration’s request. In Central America, that funding would support a regional anti-gang initiative aimed at prevention, police training, and judicial reform. On July 31, 2007, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved
H.Res. 564 (Engel) recognizing that violence poses an increasingly serious threat to peace and stability in Central America and supporting expanded cooperation between the United States and Central America to combat crime and violence....
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