At least 14 of the 22 MS-13 gang members charged with murdering victims with machetes came to the United States as illegal aliens, Breitbart News can confirm.

Last week, 22 Los Angeles-based members of the violent El Salvadorian MS-13 gang were arrested and charged with a string of gruesome murders that included cases where victims were allegedly hacked with machetes to death and had their hearts cut out from their chests.

Records obtained by Breitbart News confirms that of the 22 MS-13 gang members charged with the vicious murders, at least 14 came to the U.S. as illegal aliens. Thirteen of the illegal alien gang members came from El Salvador and one arrived from Honduras.

In multiple cases, the illegal aliens were ordered to be removed, petitioned to bring relatives to the U.S., were granted or denied work permits, attempted to get asylum, and claimed to be the victims of crimes.

Four of the 22 gang members were born in the U.S. and granted birthright citizenship, while another four have unconfirmed immigration statuses and are presumed illegal aliens until proven otherwise.

The case sheds light on how the MS-13 gang has been highly effective in smuggling its members and potential recruits across the U.S.-Mexico border and avoiding deportation by claiming asylum or petitioning for special immigrant visas.

In some scenarios, illegal alien MS-13 gang members are even released by sanctuary cities. In May, officials with the sanctuary city of Prince George County, Maryland, defended releasing two illegal alien MS-13 gang members who are charged with allegedly murdering a 14-year-old girl, as Breitbart News reported.

The MS-13 gang is primarily made up of illegal aliens, Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs), and newly arrived immigrants living in the U.S. Today, the gang operates largely in Los Angeles, New York, Virginia, and Washington, DC, but conducts gang activities and drug distribution across at least 40 states and has at least 10,000 members in the country.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.