MS-13 Gang Activity Threatens Schools on Long Island

The violent gang MS-13 tightened its grip on communities across Long Island during 2016 and 2017, with schools in Suffolk County becoming ground zero for recruitment and several students paying with their lives.

The crisis was centered in Brentwood, a working-class community of more than 60,000 residents with over 20,000 students enrolled in the local school district. Law enforcement officials described the schools as a primary hunting ground for gang recruiters, who targeted children as young as 12 and 13 years old.

The violence made national headlines on September 13, 2016, when two Brentwood High School students — 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas — were murdered by MS-13 members using machetes and baseball bats. Investigators said Cuevas had been specifically targeted after feuding with gang members at school. MS-13 had issued a “greenlight,” or kill order, on Cuevas after altercations on school grounds. Mickens was killed because she was with her friend at the time.

Before her death, Cuevas had warned her mother about the gang’s growing influence. “They are taking over the school,” she told her.

The murders of Mickens and Cuevas were not isolated incidents. Five students connected to a single high school were killed in less than two years. Since January 2016, 17 of 45 homicides in Suffolk County had been linked to MS-13, according to law enforcement officials.

Authorities identified approximately 400 MS-13 members operating in Suffolk County, organized into roughly nine distinct cliques. Since 2013, the gang had been connected to 27 murders in the county.

A major law enforcement operation led to the arrest and prosecution of key gang leaders. On March 2, 2017, federal authorities charged 13 MS-13 members with racketeering and seven murders, among other crimes. Gang leader Alexi Saenz was eventually sentenced to 68 years in federal prison for his role in eight murders. His brother Jairo Saenz pleaded guilty to seven murders.

The crisis drew attention at the highest levels of government. President Donald Trump invited the parents of Mickens and Cuevas to the 2018 State of the Union address. The Department of Justice and Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched intensified operations on Long Island, resulting in the arrest of more than 400 people.

Congressional hearings examined the issue under the title “Combating Gang Violence on Long Island: Shutting Down the MS-13 Pipeline.” Lawmakers debated the role of immigration policy, school safety measures, and community intervention programs in addressing the threat.

Local officials and community leaders pushed for a multifaceted response that included not only law enforcement but also expanded after-school programs, mental health services, and mentorship initiatives aimed at giving at-risk youth alternatives to gang membership.