More than 600 migrants in the US with possible ties to the vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua have been identified by the Department of Homeland Security, frightening new data revealed.
About 100 of the 600 “subjects of interest” were confirmed members of Tren de Aragua — and even recommended by Homeland Security to be placed on an FBI watchlist, according to NBC, which obtained the disturbing figures.
The other 500 were victims, witnesses or other members of the gang, officials said.
Surveillance video of alleged armed Tren de Aragua gang members taking over a residential building in Aurora, Colorado.
Tren de Aragua has a known presence in 15 states, including New York City, and a possible presence in eight others, according to the report.
Officials began collecting data on the gang after noticing a spike in crime committed by its members in US cities, including the Big Apple. Crimes include sex trafficking in Louisiana and the point-blank shooting of two NYPD officers, according to the report.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested over 100 people with alleged ties with TdA since October 2022, the data said.
An additional 75 have been arrested for immigration violations and more than 20 have been referred for federal prosecution.
Tren de Aragua gang members who refer to themselves as “Little Devils.” Obtained by the NY PostLaw enforcement experts, however, say the data shows the gap in intelligence about the gang’s presence in the US, as the Venezuelan government does not share criminal histories or other information about its immigrants with the US.
“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.”
The lack of information shared by Venezuela also makes it more difficult for border patrol agents to determine who among the Venezuelan migrants might be TdA members.
A Tren de Aragua gang member in custody over a jewelry heist in Denver on June 24, 2024. HSI El PasoThe notorious gang has been responsible for numerous offenses across New York City, most notably the point-blank shooting of two NYPD officers in Queens over the summer by a 19-year-old member who entered the US illegally last year.
Bernardo Castro Mata, who was living in a hotel-turned-city migrant shelter in Queens, made headlines after shooting two cops who tried to stop him as he drove a moped without plates down a one-way street.
Meanwhile, other young members of the gang have been accused of numerous armed robberies in Times Square, as well as other tourist-centric spots like Central Park and on the subway.
NY Post CompositeTren de Aragua’s reign of terror is becoming so serious in the city that New York’s National Guard was also told earlier this year to begin checking arriving migrants for tattoos linked to the gang.
TdA, which has long-plagued Venezuela, quickly gained a foothold in the five boroughs as gang members hid among the millions of asylum seekers crossing into the US from Mexico since 2022.
In New York, the gang members have exploited the city’s migrant shelter system, running robbery crews, as well as trafficking drugs, guns and sex workers under the noses of city officials.
The notorious gang has been responsible for numerous offenses across New York City. Obtained by the NY PostThe US shelled out an eye-watering $150 billion in 2023 dealing with the ongoing migrant crisis, according to figures from Washington, DC-based non-profit Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Of that, only $67 billion came from the federal government, while the majority of the burden was shouldered by states and local governments, punching massive holes in city budgets and short-changing everyday tax-paying US citizens.
FAIR estimates there were at least 15.5 million “illegal alien residents” in the country at the beginning of 2022, with federal funding amounting to $3,187 per migrant per year, an increase of 45% since their last survey in 2017.
A 15-year-old member of Tren de Aragua pictured left. Obtained by the NY PostOf the $67 billion the federal government spent on migrants in 2023, more than $6.6 billion was earmarked for education and over $25 billion went to cover medical costs.
Federal welfare programs ate up an additional $11.5 billion, and law enforcement costs accounted for the remaining $23.1 billion, according to the 91-page “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers 2023” report from FAIR.
The organization notes that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as state and local spending on migrants is significantly higher.
More than 210,000 migrants have traveled to New York City since the spring of 2022. As The Post has reported, under the sanctuary city’s “right to shelter” policy 150 hotels are currently providing food and rooms for the new arrivals, who get between 30 and 60 days of free housing complete with laundry facilities and help with childcare.
The total cost to house each asylum-seeker is $352 per night, and spending for 2023 and 2024 is set to surpass a staggering $2.3 billion, resulting in budget cuts of 5% across all city agencies.






