Within two years, dozens of Torren de Aragua members were arrested in Chicago and several were released, according to records reviewed by the Post.
Charges range from traffic violations to robbery to drug charges, according to records obtained by America First Legal, a think tank founded by veterans of the first Trump administration, including Stephen Miller.
At least 30 suspected gang members were arrested by Chicago police from January 2023 to September of this year, records show.
As of August 2023, the Illinois Governor's Office received alerts about gang activity, human trafficking, and shootings at immigrant shelters and neighborhoods in Chicago, according to internal emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act filing. was.
That same month, an email sent by an Illinois Department of Human Services official advised state officials to “investigate gang recruitment issues in shelters” housing immigrants.
However, TdA was still able to gain a foothold in Chicago.
One of the 30 suspected TdA members arrested in the Windy City was Venezuelan immigrant Jonamel Barrios Moreno, 27, who illegally crossed the border into Brownsville, Texas, in May 2023. However, he was released by the Department of Homeland Security because he entered the country with his wife and son. Officials told the Post.
Officials said he was arrested by Chicago police in May for a traffic violation and arrested again on September 12 for domestic violence after an immigration judge ordered his deportation on June 4.
ICE agents finally arrested him again on September 19th.
Another suspected gang member, Venezuelan immigrant Edwin Camejo, 26, was arrested in December 2023 on suspicion of manufacturing and selling drugs.
However, the charges against him were dropped in February, according to sources. ICE agents, along with federal anti-gang units, arrested Mr. Camejo in April on suspicion of gang ties.
Officials said Camejo crossed the border into El Paso in December 2022 with his wife and two children. He was ordered deported in June.
Torren de Aragua began setting up shop in several sanctuary cities across the country, including New York, under the Biden-Harris administration, when members crossed the border posing as immigrants seeking asylum.
Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel at America First Legal, said American society has been thrown into “massive chaos” as a result of “open border policies.”
“The Biden-Harris administration's open borders policy has wreaked havoc on all communities.”
all over America. Americans need protection and accountability from them.
This is the government that is responsible for this mess and that believes it is promoting the interests of its people.
First and foremost are the American people,” Hamilton said.
In Chicago, TdA has flowed into the city's already gang-infested South Side, further aggravating local gangs.
the city was shelled Almost $500 million leaked We have assisted more than 42,000 immigrants in the past two years.
“If the black gangs here get fed up with the illegal and criminal behavior of immigrants and non-citizens, the city of Chicago will go up in flames and the National Guard and the government won't be able to do anything.” Bloodshed hits the streets. It's black people who fight immigrants,'' said Tyrone Muhammad, 53, a former gang member who now runs a street patrol and violence prevention program. Community and Social Change Ex-Convictshe previously told the Post.
In September, Chicago police were called to a South Side apartment complex where 32 armed Venezuelan immigrants were firing weapons.
