Vice President Kamala Harris was encouraged by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to designate the brutal prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) from Venezuela as a foreign terrorist group.
Prior to her event on Friday night in Houston, the Republican governor challenged Harris, who President Biden appointed in March 2021 to address the “root causes of migration.”
“Vice President Kamala Harris conveniently claims she cares about securing our border, yet her open border policies have allowed over 11 million illegal immigrants and dangerous criminals, like Tren de Aragua, into our country in the last four years, putting the lives of every American at risk,” Abbott said in a press release.
According to Abbott, Americans “deserve better.” He cited the alleged murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas by illegal aliens.
In fact, he said, “Today she’s in Houston, the same city where two Tren de Aragua gang members raped and killed innocent 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.” “All Americans, including Jocelyn and her family, deserve better.
“Vice President Harris needs to declare Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist group right away, just like Texas did. But that’s only the beginning,” he remarked. “The Biden-Harris administration must use the full weight of the federal government to eradicate them once and for all — for Jocelyn and for every American.”
Following the initiation of a statewide, comprehensive operation in September 2024 to aggressively pursue TdA to disrupt its illicit operations and deny it a foothold in Texas, the governor issued his challenge.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has upgraded TdA to a Tier 1 gang.
Abbott’s Public Safety Office is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of known or suspected TdA gang members who have engaged in or are currently participating in criminal behavior.
Harris’ extravaganza will begin Friday night in Houston, where she will be joined by Houston-born singer-songwriter Beyoncé.