The Merry-Go-Round of Youth Gangs: The Failure of the U.S. Immigration Removal Policy and the False Outsourcing of Crime

Abstract

The United States’ policy of deporting noncitizen criminals to their countries of origin is fueling a proliferation of gang membership both in Central America and in the United States. Deportation does not deter gang activity but instead helps to facilitate the transnational movement of youth gangs. Rather than continue this failed approach, this Comment proposes that the United States work with Central American nations to develop an internationally cooperative model for regulating criminal gang activity. In order to strengthen its response, the United States must end its ineffective deportation policy. It must also impose sanctions and make the United States a more costly and less desirable place to conduct criminal activity. With insight from political economic theory, this Comment concludes that any new legislation must be part of an international crime control effort to combat the threat of gang transnationalization most efficiently.