Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that "we are on offense," adding the Trump administration "is using every single tool that we have to protect the American people."
Noem made the remark in New York City after hailing the results of Operation Salvo, which was launched in the wake of an attack on an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent there in July.
Noem said an investigation into that incident revealed that the "scumbags" behind it are linked to the "notorious" Trinitarios criminal gang in New York and were "protected up until that point by sanctuary city policies."
"Operation Salvo is just the beginning of a broader and a much more sustained effort to go after not only transnational criminal organizations and networks, but also illegal criminal aliens throughout the country," Noem declared.
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"We are on offense. The Trump administration is using every single tool that we have to protect the American people. Sanctuary policies, whether they're here in New York City, whether they're in California, Illinois or Minneapolis, if you are a criminal illegal alien, we are coming to get you," she added.
"We will arrest you, we will bring justice, and we will also bring safety to the American people. We are warning anyone if you think you can harm an individual, a citizen of the United States, or a law enforcement officer, we will find you and bring you to justice.
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"If you lay a finger on one of our officers, we will catch you, we will prosecute you, and you will feel the full extent of the law. In every single thing the Trump administration does, we put the American people first."
Noem told reporters that 54 individuals have been taken into custody as a result of Operation Salvo, which involved coordination from CBP, Homeland Security Investigations, Enforcement and Removal Operations, federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and the New York County District Attorney's Office.
"Those arrested are violent transnational gang members and affiliates associated with Trinitarios, who are responsible for weapons trafficking, for human smuggling, for narcotics distribution and for armed robberies," she added.
"They had perpetuated previous violent attacks across the city of New York City. We have already removed not only many, many of these individuals that we have arrested, but over 60% of them have been returned back to their home countries to face justice for their crimes there as well."
