DHS agents approved Tren de Aragua refugee applications, CBP stopped them

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified nearly 600 migrants who the agency approved for refugee visas who may have ties to the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). The Washington Times reported that DHS approved refugee applications for Venezuelan gang members after immigration officers failed to recognize their gang tattoos during the application process.

Customs and Border Patrol agents stopped many of the individuals at the border after agents saw their TdA-affiliated tattoos, according to the report.

“It is egregious that the Biden-Harris administration knowingly continues to admit individuals that belong to transnational criminal organizations whose only purpose is to enter the United States and prey on U.S. citizens,” Emilio Gonzalez, who led U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Bush administration, told the publication.

NBC News previously reported that more than 600 migrants with connections to the Tren de Aragua gang are currently living in at least 15 states across the U.S. At least 100 of those individuals are known members of the gang.

Some TdA members have been involved in or associated with high-profile crimes in the U.S., including the assaults on two NYPD officers. The murder suspect in the case of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has two brothers suspected of being TdA members.

“When you look at the process, unfortunately, they’re just steamrolled through,” a retired U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent told NBC News. “The Border Patrol has created a conveyor belt, an automated system to process them and release them as fast as possible into the United States. We were not asking questions.”

Immigration has become a central issue in the 2024 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump has promised mass deportations if elected, while Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed support for the failed bipartisan Senate border bill.