Gang arrests from 'summer surge' increased in 2008

From CNN Justice Producer Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) - More than 1,750 gang members and associates were taken into custody in a nationwide "summer surge" of police operations aimed at reducing street violence, authorities announced Tuesday.

The arrests of members of MS-13, 18th Street and many other gangs between June 1 and September 30 compares with about 1,300 arrests in similar operations a year ago.

Details of the four-month law enforcement "surge operation" coordinated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be announced Wednesday at a press conference in Washington. ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers and local police officials from New Jersey, Georgia and Kansas will describe some of the operations, including the capture of dangerous MS-13 and other gang leaders re-arrested after they had been deported.