Gang-cation: Yellowstone Getaway for Los Surenos

Local papers in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho are reporting the arrest and pending deportation of 10 members of the Sureno gang (exact neighborhood affiliation not included) from the resort town of West Yellowstone, MT and the university town of Bozeman, MT. Says ICE:

"criminal gangs, such as the Surenos and others, are becoming increasingly involved in Montana with smuggling and distributing narcotics, laundering illicit drug proceeds, and other illegal activities."

In other words, where there is a market, there are entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, in the back of my mind I like the idea better that they just wanted a short vacation trip to Yellowstone before returning to LA.

ICE set out a press release on the arrests and deportations on their web site. I fear, however, that this will only raise the ire of a simmering anti-migrant movement in Montana and get it to grow in a state that that for all intents and purposes is "purple" and turn it bright red. Having grown up in Montana I can say that what the press should be reporting is a story of Mexicans taking jobs from Montanans ... because narcotics smuggling and other such illegal pursuits are hardly new to my native state. The difference is that now bigots can capitalize on the case.