Biden administration has given the green light to refugee claims for members of a bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang: report

The Department of Homeland Security reportedly approved refugee claims for members of a Venezuelan gang currently wreaking havoc in states across the U.S., and authorities have stepped up efforts to track down and deport members.

Kevin Grigsby, head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services refugee division, told officials in an internal email that members of Tren de Aragua had been granted refugee status and arrived in the U.S. before another agency allowed tattoos discovered that indicated gang affiliation. According to the Washington Times, they were then denied entry.

“Unfortunately, we did not ask about the tattoos during our sentencing or determine that the tattoos asked about were consistent with gang affiliation,” he wrote in a Sept. 16 email, the Times reported.

DHS identifies hundreds of migrants with possible ties to the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang

A still from a social media video shows suspected teenage Tren de Aragua members based at the Roosevelt Hotel who allegedly targeted nearby Times Square in a series of robberies. (Obtained from New York Post)

“The potential entry of suspected gang members into the United States represents a serious public safety issue that we must be vigilant about.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to USCIS for comment.

The gang It is believed to have started in Tocoron Prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since spread to Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the United States. It grew in the United States during the historic migrant crisis at the southern border. States such as New York, Texas and Colorado have dealt with crimes allegedly committed by the gang.

The revelation comes after DHS confirmed this week that it is not recommending placing more than 100 migrants it believes have ties to Tren de Aragua on an FBI watchlist. The agency has identified a total of more than 600 migrants with possible connections, but officials believe many of them are relatives or victims or witnesses of the gang's crimes.

WHO IS TREN DE ARAGUA? Malicious Venezuelan gang “follows path of MS-13” in America

In a statement, DHS said the identities came to light as part of an ongoing re-verification operation to combat the gang.

“As part of our work to combat TdA, DHS is conducting an ongoing operation to target gang members through re-searches of certain previously encountered individuals, in addition to rigorous screening and screening at the border,” a DHS spokesperson said.

The agency said those confirmed or suspected of being gang members will either be referred for prosecution or subject to expedited removal – a deportation process that allows illegal immigrants to be deported quickly.

This compilation shows suspected Tren de Aragua members and the southern border. (Fox News/Border Patrol)

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The statement emphasized that those identified in the re-verification “include people already in custody, potential victims or witnesses who are not themselves suspected of being TdA members, and others who may have nothing to do with TdA at all have”.

TdA has also become an issue in the presidential election. Former President Trump recently announced that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to carry out targeted attacks and destruction.any illegal immigrant criminal network operating on American soil.”