Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties

A Venezuelan father, who asked not to be named, and his 5-year-old son at their home in Austin on May 17, 2025. The man, his wife and two kids were swept up in an ICE raid in late March. (Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune)

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HAYS COUNTY — In late March, a group of Venezuelan relatives and friends, celebrating a pair of birthdays, rented a six-bedroom house in the southern tip of Austin with a pool and stunning views from every window of Texas’ Hill Country.