(NewsNation) — A total of 47 people were arrested during a raid outside a rural residence near Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed.
Department of Homeland Security officials told NewsNation that the FBI developed intelligence about a possible gathering of suspected Tren de Aragua members or associates in Hays County, Texas. Federal and local authorities established sufficient probable cause to obtain a search warrant for a residence that was executed by the DPS’ Special Response Team.
Watch NewsNation’s Ali Bradley’s report on the arrests live at 2 p.m. ET Thursday on “NewsNation Now.” Not sure how to find NewsNation on your TV? Use our Channel Finder here.
Officials said the individuals were arrested at or around the home following the raid and that drugs were seized as part of the multiagency operation. DHS sources told NewsNation that most of those arrested Tuesday are suspected members or associates of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan prison gang.
ICE officials said that of the 47 people who were arrested, 25 were adult men, nine were single females and four were female heads of households with nine children who are not U.S. citizens. The agency said that everyone who was arrested was found to be in the country illegally and was taken into ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Tren de Aragua
Tren de Aragua is Venezuela’s largest criminal organization. In the summer of 2024, the Treasury Department designated the Tren de Aragua gang as a transnational criminal organization.
“From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years,” the Treasury Department said. “With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA.”
Since President Donald Trump took office, dozens of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members have been deported.
Video shows protestors trying to stop ICE vehicles in Texas
The early-morning raid involved agents from the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS and the Hays County Sheriff’s Department.
Video posted to Instagram Reporte Austin shows that those who were arrested were transported away from the site in an ICE van and bus. The video, which NewsNation received permission to use, also shows protesters forming a human shield to try to stop the vehicles attempting to leave the federal facility. Austin police confirmed that officers stepped in to deal with 15 protesters who were blocking the road, trying to prevent the ICE vehicles from leaving.
Protesters allege that children were among those who were taken into custody. In a statement released on Wednesday, the FBI announced that minors were among those taken into custody. The agency said that state and federal prosecutors will evaluate possible criminal charges based on the evidence collected through the execution of the search warrant and the subsequent investigation.
The FBI said that more information will be released as it becomes available.
Trump administration wants deportation flight freezes to be overturned
The raid took place as several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, filed lawsuits attempting to stop the deportations of Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The U.S. Justice Department has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and allow the deportation of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador.
Justice Department officials argue that President Donald Trump has the authority to deport suspected Tren de Aragua members under the Alien Enemies Act after he ruled that the gang and others like MS-13 have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The Trump administration is seeking to have Judge James Boasberg’s ruling that temporarily freezes deportation flights overturned. Boasberg claims that the administration defied a previous order by allowing flights with Venezuelan nationals and suspected gang members on board to take off. The Trump administration acknowledged this week that an administrative error allowed a Maryland man to be deported to El Salvador.
White House officials, however, have argued that the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, is a former member of MS-13, which designates him for deportation under Trump’s executive order.
