In line with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 9 kids had been amongst these taken into custody.
HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Dozens of suspected Tren de Aragua members have been arrested following a raid in Hays County.
The Texas Division of Public Security (DPS) revealed that a number of businesses have been investigating individuals believed to be part of the Venezuelan gang.
Over the previous few days, the FBI stated it found a “attainable gathering” of suspected Tren de Aragua members and simply exterior of Austin, close to the Bear Creek space.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Workplace, FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Safety, San Antonio police and Texas DPS stated practically 50 individuals, together with minors, had been arrested close to a house within the space early Tuesday morning. Narcotics had been additionally seized in the course of the raid.
Whereas it’s nonetheless unclear which of the arrested people – or what number of – are suspected of being a part of Tren de Aragua, ICE shared the next particulars of the 47 individuals arrested:
- 25 grownup males
- 9 grownup, single females
- 4 feminine heads of households with 9 kids who usually are not U.S. residents
ICE acknowledged that everybody was transported to the Austin Resident Workplace for processing and that everybody arrested was discovered to be within the U.S. illegally.
San Marcos-based activist group Mano Amiga responded to the arrests with issues concerning the lack of transparency behind the operation.
“That is about greater than only one raid,” Mano Amiga stated in a press release. “It’s concerning the ongoing sample of criminalizing immigrants and other people of shade within the identify of ‘safety.'”
State and federal prosecutors have begun evaluating the arrests for any potential fees based mostly on proof they obtained in the course of the raid.
The arrest is simply the most recent in enforcement actions the company has taken within the Austin space since President Donald Trump returned to workplace in January. Earlier than Tuesday’s arrest in Hays County, ICE additionally arrested a 34-year-old within the Austin space in February throughout “routine each day enforcement motion.”
