America First Legal (AFL) has initiated investigations into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The investigations are in response to increasing violent illegal alien gang activity in Aurora, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and western Wisconsin.
On August 29, 2024, surveillance footage showed members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) carrying firearms and entering an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Reports indicate they were involved in trespassing, assault and battery, unlawful firearm possession, and other criminal activities. On September 3, 2024, a distress call from Chicago linked Venezuelan gangsters to an armed takeover of a city building. Later that week, on September 5, authorities in western Wisconsin arrested a suspected Tren de Aragua member on multiple domestic violence charges.
AFL asserts that these incidents would not have occurred if the United States had a secure southern border. Consequently, AFL has requested records from DHS and the FBI regarding the presence of the Tren de Aragua gang in Colorado, Illinois, and Wisconsin. They have also demanded records concerning communications between local law enforcement agencies in each state and the federal government about this threat.
Gene Hamilton, Executive Director of America First Legal, stated: “The Biden-Harris administration’s deliberate decision to open our borders to the world is what allowed for violent Venezuelan gangs to run rampant in American communities. The crimes committed by these aliens are—by definition—preventable, but this administration has decided to ignore public safety and prioritize the importation of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. If Border Czar Harris were serious about eliminating the threat of foreign gang behavior in the United States, she would secure the border and deport illegal aliens from the United States. It’s that simple.”