Texas officials on Monday declared a Venezuelan group called the Tren de Aragua a “foreign terror group” and endorsed the baseless claim of former President Donald Trump that many migrants who crossed into the United States had been released from Latin American prisons.
Authorities say that the Tren de Aragua, an international criminal group, operates in several Latin American countries. It is involved in extortion and murder, as well as drug trafficking, and people smuggling.
Due to the political and economic crisis that is raging in Venezuela, a large number of Venezuelans are permitted to enter the United States. They can then apply for asylum.
Mike Banks is Texas’ top border official. He argues that Venezuela has “released prisoners on one condition: leave Venezuela and never return.”
He said that the open-border policy of the Biden administration and Vice President Kamala Harris encourages such people to move to the United States.
Harris will be running against Trump in the November presidential election.
Immigration advocates paint a different picture. They claim that the Biden Administration has repressed the border and imposed undue restrictions on people who wish to cross the border or seek asylum.
At the same press conference as Banks, Gov. Greg Abbott officially declared Tren de Aragua as a “foreign terror organization.”
This allows authorities to pursue the gang using strengthened anti-terrorism legislation and create a task force that is specifically assigned to combat the group.
Trump said on Friday that, if elected president, he would order mass deportations, starting in Ohio and Colorado.
This vow followed his debate with Harris, earlier in the week. He had made the debunked statement that migrants in Springfield are eating the pets of residents.
Trump said that he would send the migrants back to Venezuela, even though most of them are Haitians.
Springfield has been forced to increase security as a result of threats made due to the false, viral claims being circulated about Haitian immigrants. These false claims were amplified after Trump and his running-mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, aired them.
