The city of Los Angeles is trying a new program in an attempt to cut down on transnational gangs:

Last week the federal government and Los Angeles County undertook a joint attack on transnational gangs by charging 23 incarcerated gang members with the felony offense of re-entering the United States after being deported. The men, in their 20s and 30s, had been awaiting release from state prisons or city jails where they were serving time for a variety of offenses. They now face up to 20 more years in federal prison if convicted.

Prison sweeps like last week’s are the latest phase in a two-year-old program to identify transnational gang members in Southern California who have violated immigration law, said Jim Hayes, a field officer here for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Party poopers. That’s like taking taco trucks out of Los Angeles.

Though a majority of gang members are American citizens, the large number of deportations of those who are not has facilitated cross-border movement that abets transnational gang expansion, said Gary Hearnsberger, chief of the Hardcore Gang Division at the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

“Hardcore Gang Division?” Shit, we knew there was something we were supposed to remember. We totally forgot to return that to Netflix.

Los Angeles Combating Gangs Gone International [The New York Times]