Throughout his presidential campaign and his time in office, President Donald Trump has portrayed members of the gang MS-13 as murderous thugs who are pouring into the country from Central America. “These aren’t people, these are animals,” Trump said in late May about gang members who enter the country illegally. MS-13 is a favorite rhetorical scapegoat for Trump, and he has dedicated more than one rally on Long Island to railing against the scourge it presents.
Despite this fiery rhetoric about the dangers of MS-13 at home, the Trump administration does not seem to believe the gang is a credible threat to those seeking asylum in the United States. On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a rule excluding risk of violence from a private actor, such as spousal abuse or threats from a gang, as grounds for granting immigration asylum.