The United States on Tuesday designated Barrio 18 as a foreign terrorist organization, the latest gang to be blacklisted by the Trump administration amid its immigration crackdown.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced that Barrio 18 has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI UPI

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The United States on Tuesday designated Barrio 18 as a foreign terrorist organization, the latest gang to be blacklisted by the Trump administration amid its immigration crackdown.

The State Department, which announced the designation, described Barrio 18 as one of the largest gangs in the Northern Hemisphere, responsible for attacks against security personnel public officials and civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

"The United States will continue to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding the violent and criminal activity of vicious gangs and drug cartels," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

"Today's action taken by the State Department further demonstrates the Trump administration's unwavering commitment to dismantling cartels and gangs and ensuring the safety of the American people."

The gang was designated as both a foreign terrorist organization and a specifically designated global terrorist. The foreign terrorist organization designation applies to organizations, while the latter applies to individuals. Both designations block property in their names and freeze assets, while barring U.S. persons from providing them with material support or doing business with them.

Trump, who campaigned on mass deportations with the use of incendiary rhetoric and often misinformation, has targeted gangs as part of his nationwide crackdown on immigration.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has designated nearly a dozen criminal gangs as terrorist groups.

Barrio 18 was founded in Los Angeles, and then exported to Central and South America. It has an estimated 50,000 members, according to a U.S. Justice Department statement on a March conviction involving members of the gang.

Eleven gangs, including Barrio 18, have been designated by the Trump administration, including Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and others.