National Gang Violence Prevention Week, 2020

Proclamation 10080 of September 18, 2020

National Gang Violence Prevention Week, 2020

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Gang Violence Prevention Week, we
reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ensuring gang
members are removed from our streets and prosecuted for
their crimes, so all Americans can live and thrive in a
safe and peaceful environment. Our Nation's law
enforcement officials are our first line of defense
against gang violence, and we continue to express our
eternal gratitude for their selfless devotion to
upholding the rule of law and keeping us safe.

Street gangs pose grave threats to the safety of
communities and the well-being of children, teenagers,
and families. Gangs aim to perpetuate the trafficking
and smuggling of humans, weapons, and drugs. They
destroy public and private property, corrupt America's
youth, and ruin businesses. To break the pernicious
cycle of gang violence and crime, my Administration has
enacted comprehensive solutions focused on prevention,
intervention, and suppression. In July, we launched
Operation LeGend--a sustained and coordinated law
enforcement surge in communities across the Nation.
Operation LeGend is named in honor of 4-year-old LeGend
Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he peacefully
slept early in the morning of June 29 in Kansas City,
Missouri. This unfathomable tragedy is one of many
examples of the scourge gangs pose to our youth and to
our communities. The eponymous operation spans every
Federal law enforcement agency and is being executed in
conjunction with State and local officials. Our
national effort to fight violent crime will protect our
Nation's children and bring violent criminals to
justice.

Every child in America should enjoy a youth without any
risk of falling victim to violence, drugs, or other
harmful criminal acts that can destroy their future.
And every parent should see their children grow into
the people that God intended for them to become. It is
the responsibility of all public leaders to do
everything in our power to make this possible. As
President, my highest obligation is to protect our
Nation's citizens, which is why we are relentlessly
working to restore law and order throughout our
country.

In the past year, the Department of Justice has
prosecuted thousands of violent gang members, including
hundreds of leaders, members, and associates of
transnational criminal organizations such as MS-13 and
the 18th Street Gang. The spread of these vicious
groups, and the human suffering they bring, is
accomplished through a sophisticated and well-organized
campaign of violence meant to intimidate neighborhoods
and boost illegal money-making activities. In response,
my Administration has taken strong actions to secure
our borders, shut down smuggling networks, and expedite
the removal of illegal immigrants associated with these
transnational criminal networks. Additionally, the
Attorney General's Joint Task Force Vulcan has taken
steps to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately destroy MS-
13, including strategically targeting the highest
ranking leaders and bringing terrorism charges against
the organization. Through these initiatives, and
working with our foreign law enforcement partners in
Operation Regional Shield, we have reduced the ability
of transnational criminal organizations to commit

murders and other violent crimes, as well as hindered
their funding by stopping crimes such as robbery,
extortion, drug and gun smuggling, and despicable acts
of human trafficking.

Under my Administration, the Department of Justice has
revitalized the Project Safe Neighborhoods program,
which provides crucial support to local law enforcement
agencies across the country to combat gang violence and
prevent violent crime. This community-based initiative
targets the most violent criminals in the most
dangerous areas of our country and has successfully
delivered justice by getting them off the streets and
behind bars.

None of these significant strides would be possible
without the dedicated law enforcement officials of our
great Nation. In light of the growing, radical movement
attacking the police, I take this opportunity to once
again reemphasize my unending support for our Nation's
heroes in blue. We are forever grateful for the
incredible men and women of law enforcement who risk
their lives every single day to combat crime and
mayhem.

As a Nation, we must band together in the fight against
criminal gangs that threaten our democracy and
terrorize our children, families, and communities.
National Gang Violence Prevention Week is a time to
reflect on the honorable service of our heroes in law
enforcement and dedicate ourselves to doing all that we
can to prevent criminal gangs from infiltrating our
communities with violence and crime. We will not rest
until we have removed the scourge of gangs and
transnational criminal organizations from our country.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim the week of September
20 through September 26, 2020, as ``National Gang
Violence Prevention Week.'' I call upon the people of
the United States to observe this week with appropriate
programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fifth.