HOUSTON (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott discussed Texas’ new database aimed to help stop the “threat” of Venezuelan immigrants 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, that 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.”