MS-13의 ‘악마화’와 트럼프 시기 반이민 담론

‘Devilization’ of MS-13 and anti-immigration discourse during Trump's

MS-13 is a violent organization that emerged in California in the 1980s and was formed around immigrant children and refugees from El Salvador. The organization's main activity spaces are in Central American countries and the United States, but they also appear in several European countries, such as Spain and Italy. It is estimated that there are currently more than 30,000 members. MS-13 has emerged as a social concern in the United States as former President Trump attacked it as a symbol of anti-immigration policy. Trump used the violence of the MS-13 in a provocative way to set up anti-immigration policies and border barriers he was pushing for. Trump attacked the organization as a threat to national security, not just emphasizing the violence of the MS-13 to justify its anti-immigration policy. In search of new opportunities, migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were denounced as violent illegal immigrant groups related to transnational criminal organizations. With Trump emphasizing the violence of MS-13 to achieve his political goals and labeling it a detriment to national security, MS-13 has emerged as the main focus of American society. Such attacks on MS-13 can be criticized for hiding excessive prejudice and political intentions. In other words, MS-13 was strategically selected to brand it as a transnational criminal organization that threatens American society and stimulate anti-immigration sentiment. In this article, we would like to broaden our understanding of MS-13 through the context in which MS-13 emerged as a representative gang organization. To this end, I would like to critically examine the background of the emergence of MS-13 and the evaluation that MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization. Since then, we will look at the context in which MS-13 has emerged as a social concern in relation to Trump's anti-immigration narrative.