Border Patrol Chief Says Gang Members Were Detained At Laredo Crossing In One Week

A top Border Patrol official says several people tied to street gangs were detained at the Laredo, Texas crossing in a single week.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Matthew Hudak tweeted on Friday that five gang members were detained that week. According to Hudak, one was a member of MS-13 and two were members of the 18th Street gang. He wrote that gang members try to evade arrest by “exploiting the influx of migrants.”

MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, has origins tied to immigrant communities in Los Angeles and has since spread across the country, with a large presence on Long Island in New York.

For context, the New York Post reported that more than 172,000 migrants crossed into the U.S. in March, and the Border Patrol expects similar numbers for April. Based on those figures, the five detentions Hudak described make up a very small share of the people encountered at the border.

The tweet reflects Hudak’s account of the week’s detentions.

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