The Chicago Police Department reported having arrested more than 30 members of the dangerous Tren de Aragua Venezuelan street gang, only to find the courts releasing many of them right back out onto the streets.
Dozens of these gang members have been arrested over the last two years for an array of offenses, including drug dealing, human trafficking, gun charges, theft, and other charges, the New York Post reported.
However, thanks to the recent state-wide implementation of the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail in most cases, many of these gang members were released right after being arrested.
The records were uncovered after a Freedom of Information Act request by America First Legal.
SCOOP: These are the names of 30 suspected Tren de Aragua gang members arrested by Chicago cops in less than two years
— Jennie Taer 🎗️ (@JennieSTaer) November 14, 2024
Some of them have been let go by locals, forcing ICE to have to hunt them down at their homes.
Pictured are Jonamer Barrios Moreno, 27, who was let go for a… pic.twitter.com/TKE7yaRrBU
One of the suspected gang members arrested was Jonamer Barrios Moreno, 27, who illegally crossed the border near Brownsville, Texas, in 2023. After being released into the country by the Biden administration, Moreno made his way to Chicago, where he was arrested in May on a driving offense and then in September for domestic violence.
Another was Edwin Camejo, 26, who was arrested last December for drug dealing. After being released, he was later arrested in April of this year for gang activity. Camejo had illegally entered the U.S. in December of 2022.
Gene Hamilton, America First Legal’s vice president and general counsel, decried the Biden border crisis that has facilitated the flood of Tren de Aragua gangsters who have spread out across the U.S.A. Hamilton said:
The Biden-Harris Administration’s open-border policies have wreaked havoc on communities all across the United States. The American people need protection, accountability from those responsible for this mess, and an Administration that believes in advancing the interests of the American people above all else.
Local Chicago activists are warning the the growing presence of Tren de Aragua could lead to open gang warfare between the newly ensconced Venezuelan criminals and their domestic counterparts.
Former Chicago gang member Tyrone Muhammad told the Post:
When the black gangs here get fed up with the illegalities and criminal activities of these migrants or non-citizens, the city of Chicago is going to go up in flames and there will be nothing the National Guard or the government can do about it when the bloodshed hits the streets. It’ll be blacks against migrants.
This week, Fox News border reporter Bill Melugin noted that Biden’s policy of allowing hundreds of thousands of unvetted foreign men to cross over freely into the country has created a dangerous situation for Americans everywhere and has resulted in “real world consequences” for those murdered by these invaders, including Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, Kate Steinle, and many more.
My thoughts on the horrific details we heard in court today during opening statements for Laken Riley’s alleged killer.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 15, 2024
The mass catch and release of largely unvetted Venezuelan men has had real world consequences for real people. pic.twitter.com/jqj4wudHOY
Chicago has been engulfed in crime at the hands of organized gangs of migrants with retail theft, home invasions, catalytic converter thefts, and carjackings skyrocketing since 2022, with arrests of Venezuelans an especially growing trend.
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