FBI’s Migrant Gang Task Force Nets Hundreds in Virginia — Long Island Prosecutors Urge Gov. Hochul to Bring It to New York

By: Fern Sidman

As violent transnational gangs continue to plague American communities, the FBI’s newly established migrant gang task force is drawing national attention for its aggressive and effective tactics—especially after a successful launch in Virginia. Now, with hundreds of arrests already made, top prosecutors in Long Island are calling on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to embrace the initiative and bring the program to a state that has long suffered from brutal gang violence.

.@AGPamBondi: “Early this morning, one of the top leaders of MS-13 was apprehended. He was the leader for the East Coast, one of the top three in the entire country, right here in Virginia … He is an illegal alien from El Salvador — and he will NOT be living in our country much… pic.twitter.com/cW8QJNe48L

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 27, 2025

According to a report that appeared on Thursday in The New York Post, FBI Director Kash Patel has spearheaded the creation of the first-in-the-nation interagency task force focused specifically on rounding up violent criminals, particularly those affiliated with gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, many of whom entered the United States illegally. Patel told The New York Post that his goal is to expand the program to all 50 states.

“Violent criminals and illegals harming our citizenry and our way of life” are the central targets of the task force, Patel said. Since its March 3 debut in Virginia, the joint operation has already netted over 340 arrests—a stunning figure that has caught the attention of law enforcement officials across the country.

As detailed in The New York Post report, the task force is a multi-agency effort involving the FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and others. The team has been working in lockstep to identify, locate, and arrest individuals connected to violent migrant gangs.

.@FBIDirectorKash on the capture of an MS-13 leader: “This is what happens when you let good cops be cops and we’re going to continue to let good cops be cops across this country… We are returning our communities to safety.” pic.twitter.com/DXe68LA2eE

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 27, 2025

On Thursday, the task force’s efforts led to the arrest of one of its most high-profile targets to date: Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador and the East Coast’s top MS-13 leader. He was apprehended and labeled by Attorney General Pam Bondi as “the worst of the worst.”

Bondi, who announced the arrest during a press briefing on Wednesday, celebrated the task force’s early success. “We are showing what is possible when local, state, and federal agencies collaborate with shared urgency,” she said, as quoted by The New York Post.

“MS-13 is one of the most dangerous gangs in our country, and we are going to fight until they are completely dismantled,” Bondi declared.

The call for New York to follow Virginia’s lead is not without grave context. Long Island, particularly in Suffolk and Nassau counties, has been the site of some of MS-13’s most savage crimes. Communities such as Brentwood have become synonymous with the gang’s brutal brand of terror.

One of the most haunting cases occurred in 2016, when 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas and her 15-year-old friend, Nisa Mickens, were ambushed and murdered with baseball bats and machetes. The New York Post reported that prosecutors said the girls were targeted after being deemed disrespectful on social media—an “offense” that led to a premeditated execution carried out under orders from MS-13 leader Jairo Saenz, known as “Funny.”

Saenz recently appeared in federal court, grinning as he received a 60-year prison sentence for his role in the murders—just one example among many of the gang’s brazen violence on Long Island, as was pointed out in The New York Post report.

Given this backdrop, some of Long Island’s most senior prosecutors are urging Gov. Hochul to welcome the FBI’s new task force to New York.

“Gov. Hochul should be open to a conversation about having a gang task force here. I support it. We should do everything in our power to take down these gangs,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told The New York Post. She emphasized that her office maintains close working relationships with federal and state partners and would fully support any initiative that enhances public safety.

“If our federal partners want to expand, it’s a great idea,” Donnelly told The New York Post. “And we hope that it would bring funding, which would allow us to do more to combat these dangerous gangs.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney echoed her sentiments, noting that local law enforcement has already been engaged in long-standing collaborations to combat MS-13 and other violent criminal organizations. “Because of the violent history of MS-13 on Long Island, law enforcement in Nassau and Suffolk counties have been working with our state and federal partners all along,” Tierney said, according to The New York Post.

“This task force proves what’s possible when strong leadership meets real collaboration,” an FBI spokesperson told The New York Post. “In just four weeks, we took down 342 criminals in Virginia by uniting state, local, and federal resources—backed by the DOJ and driven by AG Pam Bondi’s vision.”

Now, with Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration setting what the bureau described as “the standard,” the FBI is preparing to replicate the model across the country. The move comes amid growing public concern over the rise of violent transnational gangs operating in U.S. communities—particularly those involving individuals who have entered the country illegally.

In response to inquiries about whether New York would adopt a similar task force, a spokesperson for Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement to The New York Post on Thursday evening indicating cautious support—while drawing a firm line between targeting criminals and harming immigrant communities.

“Governor Hochul has been clear from the beginning: she believes violent criminals and gang members should be deported but does not support any attacks on children and families,” the statement said, as reported in The New York Post.

The governor’s office emphasized her administration’s current efforts to bolster law enforcement capabilities, including millions in new funding for surveillance and counterterrorism technology along the northern border, expanded deployments of State Police, and enhanced intelligence operations—all part of this year’s budget priorities.

“New York State currently partners with federal authorities on multiple task forces,” the spokesperson added, “and she has directed her Administration to explore additional ways to partner with these agencies while upholding the laws of New York.”

The next phase may depend on whether the FBI, DOJ, and Trump-era officials can align their law enforcement strategy with the legal and political realities of states like New York, where attitudes toward immigration enforcement often differ from those in states like Virginia or Florida.

Still, the effectiveness of the Virginia model—as covered by The New York Post—has made it difficult for even cautious policymakers to ignore. The unprecedented volume of arrests, rapid results, and collaboration across agencies provide a compelling template for addressing gang violence that transcends partisan lines.

As New York officials now “explore additional ways” to cooperate with federal counterparts, the question remains whether the FBI-led task force will find a home in a state that has both the highest stakes and the deepest political divides over immigration and criminal justice policy.

If it does, the model launched in Virginia may soon become the centerpiece of a new national strategy against transnational gang violence—one built on unity, speed, and an unwavering resolve to reclaim America’s streets.