Sheriffs across the country have criticized the Biden-Harris administration for failing border policy, saying it has allowed members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang to enter the country and threaten to shoot officers.
Venezuelan prison gangs have sent their members across the southern border posing as migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. While in the country, gang leaders have given their members the “green light” to shoot and kill any U.S. police officers who try to disrupt their operations.
Leaders of the American Sheriffs’ League in a statement Tuesday called national attention to the Tren de Aragua threat and said the roots of the gang’s actions lie in the open U.S.-Mexico border.
“When we allow brutal and violent gangs to exist, [Tren de Aragua]”There has been a failure in terms of border security in operating within the United States,” said Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho.
“[Tren de Aragua] This is the latest example of failed policies that have allowed gangs and criminal organisations to infiltrate our country, commit heinous acts of violence and inflict terror on our communities.”
According to sheriffs, the gang’s criminal activities in the United States include “human trafficking, smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and the movement of illegal narcotics within their area of operation.”
Tren de Aragua is accused of hundreds of crimes, including the shooting and killing of two New York Police Department officers in June who were trying to arrest one of the gang members.
It was also recently revealed that the gang was smuggling guns into migrant shelters in New York City by hiding them in food delivery bags.
The Biden administration recently announced that Tren de Aragua “International Crime Organizations” And they are offering a multi-million dollar bounty to track down the gang’s leaders.
“While we commend the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions enforcement efforts, [Tren de Aragua] Given that leaders of gangs officially designated as Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) have issued threats to kill or injure law enforcement officers across the country, it is clear that more needs to be done to stem the influx of gang members. [Tren de Aragua] “They are not permitted to enter the United States,” said Megan Noland, executive director of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association of America.
The gang also recruits new immigrants in several sanctuary cities, including Denver, where gang members allegedly carried out a vicious jewelry store robbery.
Key members of the gang include Jose Ibarra, who is accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, and whose two brothers, law enforcement sources say, are also in the U.S. illegally and have been identified as members of the gang.
The Border Patrol only began tracking the group in March 2023 and has since arrested about 70 of its members. According to federal dataIn total, the group reportedly has around 5,000 members.
“The total number is [Tren de Aragua] The number of members active in the United States is unknown based on the number of “Got Aways” who entered the country and how many may have been recruited domestically since then. [Tren de Aragua] They have a strong presence across the country,” the sheriffs noted.
A Department of Homeland Security source told The Post that Torren de Aragua will likely remain in the U.S. because Venezuela continues to deny flights for deportation.
