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Sky News AU
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Accused Tren de Aragua gang members at Texas ICE facility barricade themselves, threaten to take hostages after spelling out SOS in prison yard
Nearly two dozen Tren de Aragua gangbangers in an ICE detention center in Texas have barricaded themselves and threatened to take hostages in a major uprising — days after migrants spelled out 'SOS' in the prison yard. Members of the Venezuelan gang threatened to hold ICE officers captive and injure them on April 26 as they barricaded the doors of their unit with their cots, covered surveillance cameras, blocked windows, and flooded the unit by clogging the toilets, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The takeover attempt lasted 'several hours,' with the detainees ignoring the orders of ICE agents. Alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers were seen begging to be sent home by flashing a banner reading 'Help, we want to be deported. We are not terrorists. SOS' to a drone overhead this week at the same facility. And just weeks before, another group of migrants were seen by a Reuters drone forming the letters 'SOS' at the Texas detention center. In response to the uprising, DHS is asking the Supreme Court to allow deportations to resume under the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act, which was blocked after the Trump administration deported dozens of alleged gangbangers to El Salvador without giving them a hearing. 'Keeping these foreign terrorists in ICE facilities poses a serious threat to ICE officers, staff, and other detainees,' said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. 'The media repeated these TdA gang members' false sob stories, but the truth is these are members of a foreign terrorist organization that rape, maim, and murder for sport,' she added. The group was set to be deported to El Salvador's hellhole CECOT prison, but the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to use the Alien Enemies Act to kick them out of the country. In the earlier drone footage, alleged Tren de Aragua members Diover Millan, 24, and Jeferson Daniel Escalona Hernandez, 19, were seen in the detention facility yard. Escalona Hernandez was nabbed in January after he was arrested in Texas for evading arrest in a vehicle and ended up at Guantanamo Bay, where the Trump administration opened a migrant detention center, before being moved to the facility in the Lone Star State. Escalona Hernandez had 'self admitted' to being a Tren de Aragua member, according to DHS. He denied having any gang affiliation and said he volunteered to get deported home, but was denied permission to do so, in a phone interview with Reuters from the detention center. The alleged gangbanger said he believed the feds linked him to the gang after viewing photos on his phone of him making hand signals that are popular in Venezuela. 'They're making false accusations about me,' he said. 'I don't belong to any gang.' 'I fear for my life here,' he said. 'I want to go to Venezuela.' The feds also tagged Millan as a member of Tren de Aragua after he was let go by the Biden administration at the border and later collared by ICE, according to DHS. Originally published as Accused Tren de Aragua gang members at Texas ICE facility barricade themselves, threaten to take hostages after spelling out SOS in prison yard
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Tren de Aragua gangbangers at ICE facility barricade themselves, threaten to take hostages after spelling out SOS in prison yard
Nearly two dozen Tren de Aragua gangbangers in an ICE detention center in Texas have barricaded themselves and threatened to take hostages in a major uprising — days after migrants spelled out SOS in the prison yard. Members of the Venezuelan gang threatened to hold ICE officers captive and injure them on April 26 as they barricaded the doors of their unit with their cots, covered surveillance cameras, blocked windows, and flooded it by clogging the toilets, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The takeover attempt lasted for 'several hours,' with the detainees ignoring the orders of ICE agents. Advertisement 3 The entrance to the Bluebonnet Detention Center. Getty Images Alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers were seen begging to be sent home by flashing a banner reading 'Help, we want to be deported. We are not terrorists. SOS' to a drone overhead this week at the same facility. And just weeks before, another group of migrants were seen by a Reuters drone forming the letters 'SOS' at the Texas detention center. In response to the uprising, DHS is asking the Supreme Court to allow deportations to resume under the 18th Century Alien Enemies Act, which was blocked after the Trump administration deported dozens of alleged gangbangers to El Salvador without giving them a hearing. Advertisement 3 An exterior shot of the detention center is seen. Getty Images 'Keeping these foreign terrorists in ICE facilities poses a serious threat to ICE officers, staff, and other detainees,' said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. 'The media repeated these TdA gang members' false sob stories, but the truth is these are members of a foreign terrorist organization that rape, maim, and murder for sport,' she added. The group was set to be deported to El Salvador's hellhole CECOT prison, but the the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to use the Alien Enemies Act to kick them out of the country. Advertisement In the earlier drone footage, alleged Tren de Aragua members Diover Millan, 24, and Jeferson Daniel Escalona Hernandez, 19, were seen in the detention facility yard. Escalona Hernandez was nabbed in January after he was arrested in Texas for evading arrest in a vehicle and ended up at Guantanamo Bay, where the Trump administration opened a migrant detention center, before being moved to the facility in the Lone Star State. Escalona Hernandez had 'self admitted' to being a Tren de Aragua member, according to DHS. Advertisement 3 In an aerial view, inmates form an S.O.S. while displaying a banner saying 'Help we want to be deported we are not terrorists, S.O.S.' Getty Images He denied having any gang affiliation and said he volunteered to get deported home, but was denied permission to do so, in a phone interview with Reuters from the detention center. The alleged gangbangers said he believed the feds linked him to the gang after viewing photos on his phone of him making hand signals that are popular in Venezuela. 'They're making false accusations about me,' he said. 'I don't belong to any gang.' 'I fear for my life here,' he said. 'I want to go to Venezuela.' The feds also tagged Millan as a member of Tren de Aragua after he was let go by the Biden administration at the border and later collared by ICE, according to DHS.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers in ICE detention hold up sign beg to be deported
Dozens of desperate alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers begged to be sent home, flashing a banner reading 'Help, we want to be deported. We are not terrorists. SOS' to a drone flying over a prison yard in Texas this week. The jumpsuit-clad migrants were seen standing in a formation spelling out 'SOS' — Morse code for 'help' — while holding a sign in the colors of the Venezuelan flag at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bluebonnet detention center in Anson, Texas. 3 Migrant detainees hold up a sign reading 'help we want to be deported' to a drone flying over an ICE detention center in Texas. Getty Images Just weeks earlier, a group of Venezuelan detainees were spotted by a Reuters drone getting into the 'SOS' formation at the same detention center. Prior to the request for help, they were seen waving, socializing and playing soccer. The Trump administration said all the men involved are suspected Tren de Aragua members. 3 Drone footage taken earlier this month showed a group of migrants forming the letters 'SOS' in a cry for help. Reuters They were previously due to be deported to El Salvador's hellhole CECOT prison, but that was halted when the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort use the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to kick them out of the country without a hearing. In the earlier drone footage, Venezuelan migrants Diover Millan, 24, and Jeferson Daniel Escalona Hernandez, 19, both of whom the feds said are Tren de Aragua members were seen in the detention facility yard. ICE agents nabbed Escalona Hernandez in January after he was arrested in Texas for evading arrest in a vehicle, according to Reuters. He ended up at the Bluebonnet facility after he was moved from Guantanamo Bay, where the Trump administration opened a detention center for migrants. 3 The Texas ICE detention center is holding dozens of alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers. REUTERS Escalona Hernandez had 'self admitted' to being a Tren de Aragua member, according to DHS. The Venezuelan migrant denied having any ties to gangs, including Tren de Aragua, in a phone interview with Reuters from detention. He also claimed that he volunteered to get deported to his home country, but wasn't allowed to do so. He said it was likely the feds tied him to the gang because of photos showing him making hand signals commonly seen in Venezuela that they likely saw after searching his phone. 'They're making false accusations about me,' he said. 'I don't belong to any gang.' 'I fear for my life here,' he said. 'I want to go to Venezuela.' Millan was also tagged as a Tren de Aragua member, after he was released into the US by the Biden administration and later collared by ICE, according to DHS.
New York Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump admin hits back after alleged Tren de Aragua gangbangers spelled out ‘SOS' in detention yard
The Trump administration is hitting back after viral news drone footage showed federal immigration detainees spelling out 'SOS' from a prison yard in Texas this week. The 31 detainees, clad in red and orange jumpsuits, were first seen waving to a Reuters drone while socializing and playing soccer in an outside recreational area surrounded by razor wire fencing before getting into a formation to spell out 'SOS' — a Morse code word for 'help.' Migrant detainees spell out 'SOS' before a news drone flying above. Reuters But the 'real story' behind the footage is 'that the Biden administration was releasing gang members into American communities,' the Department of Homeland Security asserted on X Thursday. The footage, which was taken above the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bluebonnet detention center in Anson, Texas, came just ten days after dozens of Venezuelan nationals detained at the facility were formally accused of being members of the violent prison gang Tren de Aragua and will likely face deportation, according to Reuters. The alleged gangbangers were swiftly loaded onto a bus to the Abilene Regional Airport, but they were quickly turned around to head back to the detention center after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration's effort to deport them without a hearing using the 18th century Alien Enemies Act. In their drone footage, Reuters captured images of Venezuelan migrants Diover Millan, 24, and Jeferson Daniel Escalona Hernandez, 19, both of whom the feds said are Tren de Aragua members. Immigration agents nabbed Escalona Hernandez in January after he was arrested by cops in Texas for evading arrest in a vehicle, according to Reuters. He was sent to Bluebonnet after he was moved from Guantanamo Bay, where the Trump administration has set up a migrant detention center, in February. DHS said Thursday that Escalona Hernandez is 'a self-admitted Tren de Aragua gang member,' who entered the country illegally on March 27, 2024 and was later 'arrested for felony evading arrest with a vehicle.' In a phone interview from detention with Reuters, Escalona Hernandez denied that he's tied to any gang, including Tren de Aragua, and said he was a police officer back home in Venezuela. Migrants wave at a news drone flying over an ICE detention facility. Reuters Escalona Hernandez said he suspected the feds saw photos of him making hand signals that are often seen in Venezuela when they took his phone. 'They're making false accusations about me,' he said. 'I don't belong to any gang.' He also said that he volunteered to return to Venezuela, but wasn't allowed to do so. 'I fear for my life here,' he said. 'I want to go to Venezuela.' The agency also described Millan as a Tren de Aragua member who sneaked into the US as a 'gotaway.' He was later arrested by border agents on May 3, 2023 and was released by the Biden administration before being collared by ICE. The Trump administration already deported more than 260 reputed gang members to El Salvador's hell-hole megaprison using the wartime power. President Trump justified its use after designating Tren de Aragua as an invading force for terrorizing American communities with violent crime. A Trump-appointed judge ruled Thursday, however, that the president 'unlawfully' used the act to carry out his mass deportation plan.
