Trump vs MS-13

BRENTWOOD, NY — As President Donald Trump heads to Long Island to address escalating concerns about the deadly MS-13 street gang, security is amped up and the community is divided between words of thanks and welcome — and heated protest.

Trump's arrival comes on the heels of the president's proposal of a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military — and a speech at the National Scout Jamboree that ignited a public outcry.
Locally, Long Island is divided about Trump's appearance, with many grateful to the president for addressing MS-13, a gang Attorney General Jeff Sessions called a "group of murderers, traffickers and thugs, carrying out a frontal assault" on law-abiding men and women — and others organizing a rally and protest Friday near Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, where Trump is slated to speak.
With only hours to go before Trump's arrival, here's what you need to know about Friday's event — and how locals are reacting to the president's appearance.

The facts
A statement to faculty, staff and students from Suffolk County Community College said Trump will be visiting the Michael J. Grant Campus on Friday for a White House, invitation-only law enforcement event.
Newsday reported that Trump will be speaking at the Van Nostrand Theatre on the SCCC campus at 1:30 p.m.
The event is not open to the public. All invitations were issued by The White House.
An enhanced security presence will be seen on campus; delays gaining access to the campus from all entrances should be anticipated. Local traffic will be impacted by this event and any unnecessary travel to the campus should be avoided, college officials said.
Rep. Peter King confirmed on Thursday that Trump would be speaking Friday to an audience primarily comprised of FBI, Homeland Security, and law enforcement representatives — specifically addressing MS-13 in the Central Islip and Brentwood community, which has been ravaged by MS-13 gang activity.
The gruesome discovery in a Central Islip Park this April of four young men believed to have been murdered by MS-13 members has brought an international spotlight to Suffolk County, with elected officials and law enforcement vowing to fight back.
King told Patch he's spoken with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who visited Long Island in April and had a message for MS-13: "We are targeting you" — as well as White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Tom Price, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, about the escalating MS-13 crisis.
About a month ago, King said, he was speaking at the White House and Preibus told him the president was "seriously considering" a trip to Long Island to specifically address MS-13. He said he then got a call about 10 days ago from the White House informing him that Trump would visit Long Island Friday but could not initially discuss specifics due to security reasons.
"It's a priority of the administration to destroy and crush MS-13"
The visit, King said, is critical.
"It's important to let police and Homeland Security know that the administration is 100 percent behind their efforts — that's it a priority of the administration to destroy and crush MS-13," he said.
Also important, King said, is sending a message to a community living in fear of insidious gangs.
"If you're an immigrant living in a community and you have a hard time speaking English and you have MS-13 terrorizing you, you think you are left, alone, a victim," he said. "Then, you see the most powerful person in the world coming to say he's there to defend and protect the community, standing behind the police, Homeland Security, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice. It's very significant. Having the president make it a major issue is a morale boost."
A recent Congressional hearing about MS-13 has helped to spotlight the ongoing issues, King said.
Also a powerful deterrent, King said, have been ICE raids during which not only those with criminal convictions, but those who are affiliated with MS-13 and are in the country illegally, are "grabbed and deported," he said.
"It's not over yet but steps are going in the right direction," he said.
Fear, rallies, protests
Meanwhile, rumors of ICE raids escalating in the days before the president's arrival have had some immigrant advocacy groups fearful, said Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate in Riverhead.
Smyth said a letter was sent out from an attorney who works with an immigrant and refugee group in Hempstead saying the raids were expected — but so far this week, she has heard of no such raids.
"I haven't heard of any on Long Island at all," she said. "People are walking into my office by the dozens, going to beaches, going to work. It's not enough to make them sit in the house and hide."
A "Long Island Community Unity Rally & Protest" is slated for Brentwood Park, across the street from SCCC, Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. "This is an organized, peaceful rally and protest," organizers said.
According to the Unity Statement issued by organizers of the event, “We are saddened and outraged to see President Trump seek to use local tragedies for political gain — and particularly to fuel his hateful, anti-immigrant agenda. We say, loud and clear, that, after months of vilifying our communities, he is not welcome here. . . As we commit to repairing and healing our communities, we know that Trump’s divisiveness and xenophobia will not make us safer, nor will it help us achieve the structural changes that long-neglected communities like Brentwood and Central Islip need."
And, organizers said, “In their response to the tragedies in our communities, Donald Trump and Peter King have not shown concern about the issues that affect our communities. Instead, they have utilized their positions to scapegoat entire segments of the population for their own political gain. This approach is entirely backward and counter-productive, and we will resist it at every turn. . . We stand united against hate.”
The letter was signed by local residents and representatives of a list of community organizations.
The New York LGBT Network will also be hosting a protest in Brentwood on Friday after Trump's said he would ban transgender individuals from the serving in military.
The protest is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Brentwood State Park on 375 Crooked Hill Road.
David Kilmnick, president of the New York LGBT Network based on Long Island, issued this statement:
“The Trump administration’s latest shameful assault on the LGBT community should give every American pause. It’s inexcusable for President Trump and his administration to continue assaulting the LGBT community for political gain. The LGBT Network stands united with every American who has ever been the victim of discrimination and hate in the workplace. . . At the end of the day, discrimination is discrimination, regardless of who the victim is.”
Zeldin to travel with Trump
Rep. Lee Zeldin will be traveling with Trump from Washington, D.C. to Suffolk County Friday.
“The rise in gang violence, which is ruining lives, wreaking havoc, and causing irreparable and devastating harm to families, is hitting home in the most personal and tragic way in Suffolk County, where we’ve seen ongoing violence perpetrated by MS-13 and other Central American gangs taking innocent lives and threatening the safety of our schools," Zeldin said. "I thank President Trump for making it a priority to travel to Long Island tomorrow to address the administration's determined efforts to eradicate this violent street gang."
Of the rally, he said: "It is greatly unfortunate that some people plan to line the streets in opposition to the president’s visit, shamefully alleging that the president’s motive is to ‘attack immigrants’ and ‘hard working American families’. Nothing could be further from the truth. President Trump and his administration are taking a no nonsense approach at eradicating violent gangs that are murdering innocent Long Islanders and tearing apart families and communities. . .Failure is not an option. We must always take action to make our neighborhoods safer and improve our quality of life.”
Also welcoming Trump is Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, who said more than a hundred correction officers and deputy sheriffs are expected to attend Friday’s event in Brentwood.
DeMarco said he is a strong supporter of intensified border security, closing loopholes in the immigration system, and improving communication with local stakeholders; he has spoken out about how gangs have exploited government programs, such as the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program.
DeMarco recently praised the Trump Administration for attacking the economic heart of what he called a strengthening alliance between Mexican drug cartels, sex traffickers and gangs, a release from his office said. “When people talk about border security the first thing they usually think of is illegal immigration, but I think about heroin . . . I think about sex trafficking and arms smuggling. These are issues that have had a devastating affect on millions of Americans, including law-abiding non-citizens who are here to make a better life for themselves, their families and their communities,” he said.
Trump's visit a 'cynical ploy'
Some are livid about Trump's visit: On Thursday, The New York Civil Liberties Union spoke out heatedly about Trump’s planned visit to Suffolk County.
According to NYCLU Suffolk County Chapter Director Irma Solis, “Let’s be clear, the real target of President Trump’s dragnet is not criminals, it is immigrants. Despite the pageantry of a presidential visit, our local officials must renew their commitment to our immigrant community, who they serve, rather than acting as an instrument of Trump’s deportation agenda. In particular, when the Suffolk County Police Department does the bidding of immigration enforcement, they push away people the police need and people who need the police.”
The president's visit comes after a large contingent of elected officials have vowed to fight back against the insidious street gang.
“MS-13 is going to be gone from our streets very soon, believe me,” Trump said in May