DHS Is Seeking More Than 600 Migrants for Possible Ties to Venezuelan Gang

The Department of Homeland Security has identified more than 600 migrants in the U.S. who may have connections to a notorious Venezuelan gang that is drawing growing concern from local and federal law enforcement officials, according to data obtained exclusively by NBC News.

Roughly 100 of the 600 migrants DHS has deemed “subjects of interest” were confirmed members of the gang whom the department recommended be placed on an FBI watchlist, officials said. The others could be found after a review to be victims, witnesses or members of the gang.

The Venezuelan gang, known as Tren de Aragua, or TDA, has a known presence in 15 states and a possible presence in eight others, according to the data.

Homeland Security officials began working to compile the data on TDA this spring after they saw a spike in crime by gang members in New York and other cities across the U.S. Crimes tied to the gang include sex trafficking in Louisiana and the point-blank shooting of two New York City police officers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 100 people suspected of being associated with TDA in connection with crimes since October 2022, the data said, and 75 have been arrested for immigration violations. More than 20 have been referred for federal prosecution.

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Determining the exact number of TDA members who have crossed into the U.S. is an enormous challenge, because, unlike most countries, Venezuela does not share its criminal histories or other information with U.S. officials. That also makes it difficult for border agents to identify who among the Venezuelans crossing the border might be TDA members.

Law enforcement experts say the figure of 600 illustrates the gap in intelligence about the gang’s presence in the U.S. due to the lack of information provided by the Venezuelan government.

“The number is almost disturbingly low,” said Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence and an NBC News contributor. “It should be higher.”

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Ammon Blair, a former Border Patrol agent who now advocates for stronger security at the border as a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said the 600 figure tells him that DHS does not know the full number of TDA members actually inside the U.S.

Blair said that when he retired from the Border Patrol in November, the agency was not scrutinizing migrants crossing the border heavily enough.

“When you look at the process, unfortunately, they’re just steamrolled through,” he said. “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.”

The data obtained by NBC News showed that fewer than 30 of the more than 600 subjects of interest regarding TDA are in ICE custody.

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