HOUSTON (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott discussed Texas’ new database aimed to help identify and stop the “threat” of Venezuelan gang members entering the United States, according to a release from the governor’s office.
Abbott held a press conference Monday morning to announce the database. He was joined in Houston by the Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, Houston Police Department Chief J. Noe Diaz and National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera.
Abbott said, since 2021, more than 3,000 illegal immigrants from Venezuela have been arrested in Texas.
Abbott focused his discussion around the “vicious Venezuelan gang” Tren De Aragua or TDA.
“We need to aggressively address this threatening challenge,” Abbott said.
According to a report from the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency, in 2024, reports of single adult encounters at South Texas borders have dropped by 27.9%.
According to a recent report from News Nation, TDA started in a prison in Venezuela nearly a decade ago. TDA has now expanded to what state and federal officials are calling a “transnational criminal organization.”
“TDA is notorious for their brutal violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery and trafficking of drugs, weapons and even humans,” Abbott said.
Abbott said through a collaboration between the State of Texas and several other state and federal agencies, they have discovered that TDA has been given the “green light” to shoot U.S. law enforcement officers.
Abbott announced that through efforts working alongside state and federal government agencies, Texas is working on a database that will help figure out which immigrants are affiliated with TDA.
“We will build that database by looking at common traits shared by TDA. Some of those characteristics include tattoos, scars, marks, types of crime and methods of operation,” Abbott said.
In an effort to directly target TDA, Abbott directed DPS to elevate TDA to a tier 1 gang, ensuring that DPS has the resources needed to stop the growing “gang.”