He said that prosecuting immigrants who had entered the country illegally and committed crimes was still the federal government’s priority, and
that the government was not “out seeking witnesses to crimes to deport.” But he added, “It cannot be that the attorney general grants immunity contrary to law for people who violate the laws of the United States.”
Sessions then met with law enforcement officials from Suffolk County, Nassau County
and the State Police to discuss ways to best fight a gang whose hallmark weapon is the machete.
— The attorney general of the United States, Jeff Sessions, came on Friday to this Long Island area besieged by the transnational gang known as MS-13,
and in a 20-minute speech to local police commissioners and sheriffs vowed to eradicate the gang by cracking down on illegal immigration.
“I have a message for the gangs that target our young people: We are targeting you,” Mr.
“We are coming after you.”
A version of this article appears in print on April 29, 2017, on Page A21 of the New York edition
with the headline: Sessions Vows to Wipe Out MS-13 Gang Through Tough Immigration Policy.
“It’s shameful, it’s disgraceful that leaders in the community would criticize the attorney general.”
Sessions said the first step to combating criminal groups like MS-13 was to secure the border and restore “a lawful system of immigration.” He noted
that the administration was adding immigration judges at the border to expedite deportations, and criticized the “lawless practice” of sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with immigration authorities.
In presentations throughout the county, the Suffolk County police commissioner, Timothy Sini, said
that if crime victims or witnesses came forward, the police would not ask about their immigration status.