LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- A nationwide crackdown on street gangs in the United States has led to the arrests of 1,759 suspects, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported on Wednesday.

Of those arrested, nearly 1,500 were gang members, gang associates or individuals with prior criminal records, including more than 30 percent with violent criminal histories and 17 gang leaders, according to ICE.

The others were arrested for immigration violations and are facing deportation, ICE said.

The arrests were made under Operation Community Shield, a long-term initiative launched by ICE in 2005 to disrupt and dismantle "transnational" violent street gangs.

Transnational gangs have a significant number of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes connected with the border, according to ICE.

As part of the latest enforcement action, which ended Tuesday, ICE teamed with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target violent street gangs and their criminal associates in 53cities across 28 states.

"Street gangs prey on the neighborhoods in which they operate, and they instill fear through intimidation and violence," said ICE Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers.

"By partnering with other law enforcement agencies across the country, we are successfullytargeting these gangs, arresting their leaders, disrupting their operations, and putting their members and associates behind bars," Myers said.

Since 2005, ICE has arrested more than 11,100 members and associates from 890 different gangs and seized 388 firearms. Of those arrested, 145 were gang leaders.

Many of those arrested under Operation Community Shield are prosecuted and eventually removed from the United States.

To date, 3,997 have been charged criminally, and 7,109 have been charged with immigration violations and face deportation.
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