Texas Rep. Tony Gonzáles continued raising concerns over criminals illegally entering the United States through its border with Mexico. The Republican is now pushing for local law enforcement to help Border Patrol agents in tracking down people entering the country considering the risk they may commit crimes on U.S. soil.
The 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 to the U.S. or back in their home country.
Gonzales, whose congressional district runs from El Paso to Eagle Pass, Texas, one of the country's top migration routes, attributes his growing concerns over recent cases in which members of one of Venezuela's largest criminal organizations terrorized local communities.
"This (Tren de Aragua) threat is growing. These Venezuelan gangs are not just passing through, they're staying in our communities," Gonzáles said on July 30 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?," Gonzáles added.
His comments come in response to a NewsNation report alleging 1,000 members of the Tren de Aragua gang 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 warning agents to remain vigilant.
"Border Patrol is the first layer of defense, but it's clear they have been (overwhelmed)," Gonzales 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?," he added.
Gonzáles's proposed local-federal joint gang task force would target those suspected of committing crimes in the U.S. or abroad. The Texas lawmaker is proposing allocating federal funds for this endeavor and said Bexar County law enforcement, in San Antonio, is getting a $2.7 million intelligence center.
"What is happening in Venezuela certainly impacts the United States because so many people have come over from Venezuela," he said. "What I worry about is now (their) government has essentially broken down. We have no relationship with them when someone comes over illegally," Gonzáles said.
The U.S. this month designated Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization on Thursday, a decision that allows law enforcement to allocate more resources to fight its increasing activities in the country. It also allows them to impose sanctions on its members, making it easier to freeze their assets and restrict their travel.
The announcement included the offering of millions of dollars in rewards by the State and Justice departments in exchange for information of some of its main leaders. Concretely, there is now an up to $5 million reward for Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero, also known as "Niño Guerrero" (Warrior Child); up to $4 million for Yohan José Romero, aka "Johan Petrica", and up to $3 million for "Giovanny San Vicente, aka "El Viejo" (The Old Man).
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