Ted Hessen

Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang, a prison gang, and the name translates to train from Aragua, which is a state in Venezuela. And within Venezuela and within the region, they have a reputation, a notorious reputation for extortion and kidnappings and even contract killings. We've seen them increasingly talked about in the U.S., particularly in the political context.

Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang, a prison gang, and the name translates to train from Aragua, which is a state in Venezuela. And within Venezuela and within the region, they have a reputation, a notorious reputation for extortion and kidnappings and even contract killings. We've seen them increasingly talked about in the U.S., particularly in the political context.

Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang, a prison gang, and the name translates to train from Aragua, which is a state in Venezuela. And within Venezuela and within the region, they have a reputation, a notorious reputation for extortion and kidnappings and even contract killings. We've seen them increasingly talked about in the U.S., particularly in the political context.

And this goes back to the presidential election last year.

And this goes back to the presidential election last year.

And this goes back to the presidential election last year.

What we saw under former President Joe Biden was an increase in immigration generally and illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. and also hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who entered both by crossing the border illegally and through legal entry programs that Biden himself had launched.

What we saw under former President Joe Biden was an increase in immigration generally and illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. and also hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who entered both by crossing the border illegally and through legal entry programs that Biden himself had launched.

What we saw under former President Joe Biden was an increase in immigration generally and illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. and also hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who entered both by crossing the border illegally and through legal entry programs that Biden himself had launched.

And then during the election, we noticed that as President Trump made illegal immigration a major theme and even legal immigration a major theme of his reelection campaign, he was focusing also on the Venezuelans who had come into the country and particularly portraying many of them as immigrants affiliated with this gang, Tren de Aragua, or with gangs in general or criminality.

And then during the election, we noticed that as President Trump made illegal immigration a major theme and even legal immigration a major theme of his reelection campaign, he was focusing also on the Venezuelans who had come into the country and particularly portraying many of them as immigrants affiliated with this gang, Tren de Aragua, or with gangs in general or criminality.

And then during the election, we noticed that as President Trump made illegal immigration a major theme and even legal immigration a major theme of his reelection campaign, he was focusing also on the Venezuelans who had come into the country and particularly portraying many of them as immigrants affiliated with this gang, Tren de Aragua, or with gangs in general or criminality.

Now, that said, even though this gang does have a fearsome reputation within Venezuela and within the region, there are not yet signs that they're operational on a large scale in the U.S. There have been individual cases of alleged members of the gang arrested and charged with crimes, including very serious crimes.

Now, that said, even though this gang does have a fearsome reputation within Venezuela and within the region, there are not yet signs that they're operational on a large scale in the U.S. There have been individual cases of alleged members of the gang arrested and charged with crimes, including very serious crimes.

Now, that said, even though this gang does have a fearsome reputation within Venezuela and within the region, there are not yet signs that they're operational on a large scale in the U.S. There have been individual cases of alleged members of the gang arrested and charged with crimes, including very serious crimes.

But that said, it's just not clear that they're operational here in the way that they might be in another country.

But that said, it's just not clear that they're operational here in the way that they might be in another country.

But that said, it's just not clear that they're operational here in the way that they might be in another country.

So the Alien Enemies Act is an obscure, rarely used wartime statute that dates back to 1798. And it's really just been used three times in U.S. history and always in times of war. It's best known or most notoriously known for its use in World War II to justify internment camps for Japanese Americans, Italian Americans, and German Americans.

So the Alien Enemies Act is an obscure, rarely used wartime statute that dates back to 1798. And it's really just been used three times in U.S. history and always in times of war. It's best known or most notoriously known for its use in World War II to justify internment camps for Japanese Americans, Italian Americans, and German Americans.