RALEIGH -- It was called Operation Community Shield and it netted arrest, after arrest after arrest.

“While we were doing it, word got out and we had to pursue one guy on foot,” said Thomas O’Connell with the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This anti-gang operation was the first time immigration and customs enforcement had taken part in the fight against gangs and the numbers rose as ICE teams worked with local law authorities. That move netted 50 gang members in Raleigh, taking them of the street and into prison.

“There are several different gangs, and from those several different gangs there are subsets of those gangs,” continued O’Connell.

Officials say the suspects involved in the sweep committed crimes from assault to burglary and rape. Although officials admit this won't stop crime, it's a start.

“It sends a message to other gang members in California or other areas that are looking to move here that 'hey, it's pretty hot in Raleigh, it's pretty hot in Winston-Salem,” O’Connell added. “I think we are better off staying where we are because if we move out there law enforcement is going to target us.”

ICE says the foreigners face federal criminal charges or deportation.

Homeland Security representatives say the 50 arrested in the Triangle were among the most dangerous.