Trump praises immigration officers, cites fight against MS-13 on LI
President Donald Trump's new plan would give states broad authority to restrict carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Above, the president at the White House on Monday. Credit: AP / Andrew Harnik
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday commended the work of federal immigration enforcement officers leading to the arrest of hundreds of MS-13 gang members on Long Island over the past year, saying their efforts were "liberating towns."
Trump, speaking at a White House ceremony to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Customs and Border Protection agents, highlighted Long Island’s fight to curb the gang’s deadly presence, repeating a talking point he turns to when calling for tougher immigration enforcement laws.
“I know Long Island very well...I grew up there essentially,” said Trump who was raised in the wealthy enclave of Jamaica Estates, Queens. “To hear some of the stories going on with MS-13, you wouldn’t believe it.”
Trump said law enforcement officers were “doing an incredible job,” taking on the multinational gang, that was founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s and whose members largely hail from Central America.
“We’re talking about liberating towns where you’d walk down the street at night, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, you wouldn’t even think about it,” Trump said. “People didn’t lock their doors. And today we’re liberating towns, and this is what we have coming, but we’re getting them out….It hits home when you know the towns.”
Trump invited Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Derek Bergman to join him on stage to speak about “Operation Matador” a statewide anti-gang initiative launched in May 2017 that has since resulted in more than 200 arrests in Nassau, and more than 170 arrests in Suffolk, according to ICE figures.
Bergman credited the cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement officials for the number of arrests. “It really speaks to the collaborative effort that we had with our state and local partners and other federal agencies, that everybody was able to get together and assist each other in different facets of the operation,” he said. “Hopefully we were able to make a difference in the community because that’s ultimately why we were doing it.”
Trump also used the occasion to take a jab at Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for saying in a speech last week that America was “never that great," because of its past treatment of women and minorities.
“Any politician who gets up and says that our country was never great...I think that’s the end of that career,” Trump said, prompting some laughter from the audience of mainly immigration enforcement officers.
Cuomo’s remarks were initially meant to take aim at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, but amid widespread backlash the governor was forced to walk back his comments, saying they were “inartful.”
Hours after Trump’s remarks, Cuomo issued a statement via email saying Trump should “find a new line of work” in part for his immigration policies and his administration’s delayed response to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
"New Yorkers know who you are, President Trump, and we look forward to seeing to it that you find a new line of work,” Cuomo said.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
