[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 142 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TREN DE ARAGUA PATROLS AMERICAN COMMUNITY

  (Mr. LOPEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LOPEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, a knock at the door will make the 
blood of families run cold. Today, armed prison gang members patrol the 
perimeter of an American community with their fingers on the trigger, 
waiting to dish out death and dread. Today, inhabitants will endure 
with gritted teeth, unable to ask for help for fear of reprisal, 
longing for a setting sun to cast shadows that will hide the brazen 
faces of foreign invaders.
  Mr. Speaker, an outpost of hell has sprung up in the suburbs of 
Denver. Vicious thugs have descended on Aurora like a plague or a 
cancer. The government doesn't care. The police can't be found. The 
Governor says that it is all in their heads.
  Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang started in a Venezuelan 
prison, has invaded multiple apartment communities with all the 
ferocity of wild dogs. TDA extorts residents, intimidates witnesses, 
and has received clearance from their leadership to shoot cops. The 
Biden-Harris administration encourages this with a senseless border 
policy that refuses to prioritize Americans' safety.
  Will TDA be the first virus not to spread, the first cancer not to 
metastasize?
  If we don't wake up, the next knock on the door will be for us.

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