Seven suspected members of the MS-13 gang, considered the most dangerous gang operating in the United States, have been rounded up by local and federal officials in the Orangeburg area.

The men, identified as gang members in part by their tattoos, are being considered for deportation. One was deported in the past, only to return to the United States.

Law enforcement officials say they want to keep the gang, started in Los Angeles by refugees from El Salvador, from establishing local roots. But they acknowledge there may still be members of the notorious gang in the Orangeburg area.

“We’re not so naive as to think that one operation yielded us 100 percent of the members of the gang here,” Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Chief Wendell Davis said. “Future anti-gang operations are planned as part of the nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement Initiative, Operation Community Shield.”

The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office rounded up the suspected gang members with the help of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Officials say the gang’s presence in Orangeburg became apparent on Jan. 28, when an ODPS officer was allegedly assaulted by two people believed to be members of the gang. Davis said the officer was responding to a call reporting a prowler with a knife.

“As the officer questioned an individual on the scene, an additional individual left a porch in the area and attacked the officer and attempted to take the officer to the ground,” Davis said. “There were no weapons involved in the attack on the officer and other officers on the scene responded quickly and the attacker (along with another individual at the scene) was arrested and charged.”

Roberto Carlo Vega, 18, was charged with resisting arrest. Jose Guerra, 19, was charged with interfering with a police officer.

Both are being considered for possible deportation and may not go to trial on the charges.

The other five individuals were detained in a Tuesday evening operation. They were identified as members of the gang by officers from the Gangs and Narcotics Division of ODPS. Davis said tattoos were one of the main identifying features for the gang.

All seven were placed into federal custody and transported to an undisclosed detention facility for processing.

According to a Newsweek report, MS-13 was started in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadorans fleeing civil war. Now, their numbers include other Central Americans as well. The M stands for Mara, which means posse, and the S stands for Salvatruchas, which translates to “street-tough Salvadorans.” The 13 is a gang number associated with southern California.

Newsweek estimated that MS-13 has approximately 8,000 to 10,000 members in 33 states in the United States and tens of thousands more in Central America. It is considered the fastest growing, most violent of the nation’s street gangs.

Ken Burkhart, acting resident agent in charge of the Columbia office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the detained individuals will probably be deported to their countries of origin.

“But each case is different,” Burkhart said. “One of the individuals is a prior deportee, so, in his case, the previous judge’s order will be reinstated. But it’s up to the individual judges as to what happens to them. But they will go through due process.

“None of them have any claim to stay. Unfortunately, there are no immigration judges in South Carolina, so they will be transported to Atlanta and the decisions made there. It’s usually about a two or three week process.”

Burkhart acknowledged the case of the prior deportee is not unusual.

“Our borders are not 100 percent secure,” he said. “Individuals who are free to travel can and do get into our country by legal and illegal means. We can’t catch them all coming in, but we continue to attempt to deal with them when they’re here.”

Davis and Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams agreed that Orangeburg’s law enforcement agencies are taking a proactive approach to MS-13.

“Our goal is to interrupt any trends before they get started,” Davis said. “We know they (MS-13) have put down cursory roots in a lot of South Carolina communities. But here, we’d rather deal with the problem in its infancy.”

Williams said “The Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Public Safety will continue to work in concert to fight this problem as long as it exists in Orangeburg, We intend to apply whatever effort is needed to rid our city and county of this blight.”

Burkhart said “We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing law enforcement effort to combat foreign nationals involved in gang activity, and we have found that the most effective way to fight gangs is for everybody in the community to rally together to keep gangs out.”

Davis agreed that community participation and observation is key to overcoming gang activity. He said the best way for the public to assist in fighting the problem is to inform law enforcement of any activity that is out of the ordinary.

Both Davis and Burkhart said the operations are aimed at only individuals involved in gang activities. No other groups are being targeted in the operations, Davis said.

“It’s all a part of our proactive stance,” Davis said. “We’re only targeting those individuals who align themselves with gangs.”

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