EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – As members of violent gangs such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua continue to slip scrutiny at the border, a West Texas congressman is pushing for more local involvement in tracking foreign criminals.
“Border Patrol is the first layer of defense, but it’s clear they have been (overwhelmed),” U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said. “Right now, local law enforcement relies on the federal component to provide additional information. What if it’s vice versa; what if the person on the ground that knows their community was providing information upstream?
“Why not arm local law enforcement with more information and not just blindly walking through because in many cases, they’re the ones having to deal with these actors on a daily basis?”
Gonzales’ comments come in response to a NewsNation report alleging 1,000 members of Tren de Aragua are in the United States and have received a “green light” from their leaders to fire on police officers. The report is based on a Border Patrol internal bulletin.
Gonzales, whose congressional district runs from El Paso to the other side of Eagle Pass, Texas, did not say if he’s seen the bulletin but agrees bad actors are getting through the U.S.-Mexico border. He said the threat is “credible” and should be taken seriously.
“This (Tren de Aragua) threat is growing. These Venezuelan gangs are not just passing through, they’re staying in our communities,” Gonzales said Tuesday during a Zoom call with Border Report and KTSM. “In San Antonio, just two days ago, a police officer was shot by a Venezuelan national – I don’t know if he’s TDA, but he shot a police officer. What worries me is these organizations are brazen; they’re not afraid to engage. If they’re going to shoot a police officer, what are they going to do to you and I?”
The federal lawmaker said he met with the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently and was told that more than 10,000 unauthorized migrants have committed serious crimes either after arriving in the United States or back in their country of origin.
He added he’s been to processing centers where he’s seen men with face and hand tattoos. “Was he Venezuelan? We have no idea. That’s what worries me,” Gonzales said. “We have to know who is coming into our country. Just giving them (immigration) parole and hoping for the best is not the best course of action. We have to protect our communities.”
The local-federal gang task forces he’s proposing would target those suspected of committing crimes in the U.S. or abroad. He’s proposing allocating federal funds for this endeavor and says Bexar County law enforcement in San Antonio is getting a $2.7 million intelligence center.
The State Department on Thursday distributed wanted posters of the three top Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization leaders worth a combined $12 million.
Gonzales emphasized the threat from Tren de Aragua, which began as a Venezuelan prison gang and has become a transnational criminal organization whose fugitive leaders are under a $12 million bounty in the United States.
“Venezuela has been a failed state for a very long time. There is a reason why people are fleeing,” he said, referring to hundreds of thousands of citizens of that country that have come to the U.S. requesting asylum. “What is happening in Venezuela certainly impacts the United States because so many people have come over from Venezuela. What I worry about is now (their) government has essentially broken down. We have no relationship with them when someone comes over illegally.”
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