The Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved refugee applications for members of a Venezuelan gang now causing havoc in states across the U.S., and authorities have increased efforts to track and deport members.
Kevin Grigsby, the head of refugee operations at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told officials in an internal email that members of Tren de Aragua had been approved for refugee status and made it to the U.S. before a different agency spotted tattoos indicating gang membership. They were then stopped from entering, according to The Washington Times.
"Unfortunately, we did not ask about the tattoos during our adjudication or did not identify that the tattoos asked about were consistent with gang membership," he wrote in a Sept. 16 email, the Times reported.
DHS IDENTIFIES HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS WITH POSSIBLE TIES TO BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG
"The potential entry of suspected gang members into the United States represents a serious public safety concern that we need to make sure we are being vigilant against."
Fox News Digital has reached out to USCIS for comment.
The gang is believed to have started in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded into Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. It has grown in the U.S. during the historic migrant crisis at the southern border. States like New York, Texas and Colorado have been dealing with crimes allegedly committed by the gang.
The revelation comes as DHS confirmed this week that it is not recommending that more than 100 migrants it has identified as having ties to Tren de Aragua be put on an FBI watchlist. The agency flagged more than 600 migrants with possible ties overall, but officials believe that many of those are relatives or victims or witnesses to crimes by the gang.
WHO IS TREN DE ARAGUA? VICIOUS VENEZUELAN GANG 'FOLLOWING IN THE PATH OF MS-13' IN AMERICA
In a statement, DHS said the identities emerged as part of an ongoing rescreening operation to tackle the gang.
"As a part of our work to counter TdA, DHS has an ongoing operation to crack down on gang members through rescreening certain individuals previously encountered, in addition to the rigorous screening and vetting at the border," a DHS spokesperson said.
The agency said that those confirmed or suspected of being gang members will be either referred for prosecution or placed into expedited removal - a deportation process that allows for the quick removal of illegal immigrants.
The statement stressed that those identified in the rescreening "include those already in custody, potential victims or witnesses who are not themselves suspected of being TdA members, and others who may not have any involvement in TdA at all."
TdA has become an issue in the presidential election as well. Former President Trump announced recently he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle "every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil."
