Along with failed open border policies, the inept former Biden administration granted asylum to nearly 600 individuals with ties to terror organizations.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released the figures during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, where members recapped highlights of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days.
Gabbard directed the National Counterterrorism Center to identify cartel members present in the United States, along with those who attempted to enter the country through legal or illegal means.
On Feb. 20, 2025, Trump designated eight different cartels and gangs, such as MS-13, Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, as foreign terrorist organizations.
“Just the other day, we found 700 alien terrorists who have ties to MS-13, Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel,” Gabbard said during the meeting. “Just yesterday, our NCTC identified almost 600 individuals with ties to other terrorists who came through our border illegally, claimed asylum, and under the Biden administration were paroled here within our borders.”
The Trump administration has focused its immigration enforcement efforts on terrorist groups and gangs, particularly Tren de Aragua, a highly organized group known for violence, human and sex trafficking, and drug smuggling.
Homeland Security Investigations captured a man who they say is a leader of Tren de Aragua in Los Angeles over the weekend. The Venezuelan national flaunted a stash of grenades on social media before his arrest, The Daily Wire reports.
Federal agents from a wide range of agencies, from the Department of Homeland Security to the DEA and IRS, raided an underground nightclub frequented by TdA members in Colorado and arrested more than 100 people over the weekend.
And last week in New York, federal agents indicted 27 people with ties to Tren de Aragua and splinter group Anti-Tren on racketeering, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and firearms charges.
In addition, ICE announced 100 days of record-breaking arrests in an X post.
Criminal records of arrested include convictions or charges for:
- 498 murders
- 9,639 assaults
- 1,329 sex offenses
- 6,398 DWIs/DUIs
- 1,479 weapon offenses
In total, ICE has arrested 66,463 illegal aliens and removed 65,682 aliens, including criminals who threaten public safety and national security. Three in four arrests were criminal illegal aliens, putting the worst first, according to a news release.
Of that figure, 2,288 were gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs.
“This agency has set the bar on arrests and removals while upholding its national security mission, said ICE Deputy Director Madison D. Sheahan, in a statement
ICE Homeland Security Investigations is also zeroing in on worksite enforcement operations. Since Jan. 20, HSI has arrested more than 1,000 illegal workers and proposed over $1 million in fines against businesses that exploit and hire illegal workers, ICE reports.
“Last week, HSI broke up a human smuggling ring that’s allegedly responsible for bringing between 500 and 700 illegal aliens into the U.S. every year — aliens that the U.S. government never vetted,” Sheahan noted. “Our communities are becoming safer each day thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership.”
Meanwhile, federal judges continue to sabotage the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on migrants who flooded the country under Joe Biden’s term. Many have tried to claim asylum, causing a huge backlog in the court system.
Asylum is a form of legal protection granted to individuals who are fleeing persecution or claim fear of persecution in their home country. Currently, the U.S. Immigration court backlog for asylum cases is more than 3.6 million, with roughly 2 million immigrants waiting for asylum hearings or decisions in Immigration Court, according to TRACreports.org.
