As Kamala Harris visits the border for the first time as the Democrat presidential nominee, Texas authorities launched a massive raid, arresting over 20 suspected gang members who allegedly exploited the Biden-Harris border policies to sow chaos in the state.
In a major crackdown on organized crime, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers arrested more than 20 suspected members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) in El Paso. The arrests took place at the Gateway Hotel, a notorious site of criminal activity, and come in the wake of Governor Greg Abbott’s designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
The suspects face a range of state charges, including human smuggling, prostitution, and drug possession, according to officials. The arrests are part of a broader effort to root out the gang, which has been expanding its influence across the state and the nation.
The raid coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris’s first trip to the southern border since becoming the Democrat presidential nominee, drawing attention to Texas’s escalating fight against illegal immigrant gang members that state officials say have been wreaking havoc under the Biden-Harris administration's border policies.
“Tren de Aragua has spread terror and carnage in every country they’ve been in, and Texas will not allow them to gain a foothold in our state,” Governor Abbott said in a statement earlier this week. “Today, I am announcing a reward for any information that leads to the identification and arrest of known or suspected members of this gang who have been or are involved in heinous crimes. Texas will not let these thugs use our state as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”
The governor’s declaration follows months of escalating concerns over the gang’s presence in Texas, particularly after violent incidents linked to alleged TdA members led a district court judge to order the closure of the Gateway Hotel. City officials filed a lawsuit against the hotel’s owners after law enforcement responded to nearly 700 calls for service at the property.
In response to the rising threat, Abbott announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of TdA gang members. The announcement comes as Border Patrol statistics show a dramatic surge in Venezuelan migrant crossings into Texas. During President Donald Trump’s last full year in office, Border Patrol agents apprehended just 465 Venezuelan migrants in the state’s five border sectors. Under the Biden-Harris administration, that number has skyrocketed to nearly 499,000 apprehensions from FY21 to FY24 year-to-date.
“The recent entry and expansion of the vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a dangerous and deadly problem facing our state and nation,” Abbott said during a press conference on September 17. “Our top focus is the safety and security of all Texans.”
Abbott’s tough stance reflects a broader concern about the criminal activities attributed to the gang, which has been linked to drug trafficking, extortion, and human smuggling across Latin America. The group originated in Venezuela’s prisons and has since spread its operations into neighboring countries and, increasingly, into the United States.
“Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing threat of the gang,” Abbott emphasized. “We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens. They have a target on their back, and we are going after them.”
The arrests at the Gateway Hotel represent a significant victory for state and local law enforcement, but officials warn that the fight is far from over. As Texas ramps up its efforts to combat the gang, authorities are urging the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity linked to the Tren de Aragua.
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