In the latest indication that President Trump's new administration is dead-serious about securing the border and sweeping up those who already waltzed across it, federal agents raided a Sunday morning party in Denver on and nabbed nearly 50 illegal aliens, including members of the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
The congregation of gang-related revelers made for an inviting target -- rather than picking up two or three border-violators at a time, the party at an abandoned warehouse served up dozens of suspects on a single platter. Officials described the site as a "makeshift nightclub" and said the event was only open to invited guests. Around 3 am on a frigid Denver night, armed agents crashed the party, including members of the DEA, ATF, Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"TdA affiliated gang members and associates sent out invitations over social media to come to a party at this location tonight," DEA Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen told Denver7, noting that the warehouse on the 6600 block of Federal Boulevard on Denver's north side has been used for large parties over the past several months. In video posted by the DEA's Rocky Mountain office, ICE agents are seen processing the partygoers in the bitter conditions, presumably seeking to identify them and confirm which individuals are in the country illegally:
Denver already had an infamous association with TdA, thanks to jarring video images from last August that showed gang members roaming an apartment complex, wielding rifles and pistols. Multiple complexes in and around Denver were reportedly under various extents of domination by the gang, and local government officials have since intervened, seeking closures of some, while seizing others and putting them under new management. It's not clear who owns the warehouse that's been serving as a TdA party palace -- neighbors can only hope for an enterprising Denver commercial real estate broker to find a higher and better use for the joint.
In addition to the busload of illegals, Feds said they confiscated weapons, money and drugs -- including cocaine, crack and "Tusi," also known as "pink cocaine." That latter, novel drug is rising to nationwide prominence thanks in large part to TdA, the New York Post has reported. A Chicago Police Department memo described pink cocaine as "a mixture of several drugs [that] can vary between different narcotics, e.g., Ecstasy, Amphetamines, LSD, or other synthetic drugs." It retails for at least $100 a gram on the street, according to a Post federal law enforcement source.
Trump promised swift action in rounding up illegal immigrants, and his first week in office has delivered a flurry of high-profile, high-yield raids in cities across the country, including Buffalo, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago. We've also seen the commencement of military aircraft hauling captured illegals south. In a Sunday appearance on ABC's This Week, Trump "border czar" Tom Homan told Martha Raddatz that this is only the beginning, with the pace only rising from here:
"You're going to see the numbers steadily increase -- the number of arrests nationwide -- as we open up the aperture. Right now it's concentrated on public safety threats, national security threats. That's a smaller population. So we're going to do this on a priority basis, as President Trump has promised, but as that aperture opens, there'll be more arrests nationwide."
Evidencing that prioritization of public safety and national security threats, the White House on Sunday boasted about multiple illegal-alien apprehensions that happened across the United States last week. They include:
Ideally, they'll soon be on outbound aircraft, so their home countries may be "enriched" by their presence.