As concerns about the ongoing border crisis continue, reports indicate that Central and South American criminal organizations have begun moving away from traditional tattoos in order to avoid detection when entering the U.S.
“The trend is for young gang members to not get tattoos. The older gang members with tattoos are more easily identified,” Kyle Williamson, West Texas Anti-Gang Center director, told the Daily Caller. He said members of El Salvador’s MS-13 and Venezuela’s El Tren de Aragua are known to do this.
“However, if they are identified as a gang member it does not really mean anything from an immigration perspective,” he remarked. “The main tactic is not to have tattoos and be identified as associated with known gang members.”
Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland confirmed the shift in tactic, suggesting cartel members have “gotten smarter” and realized that tattoos were one of the more effective methods of identifying members.
Tattoos are a common practice in Mexican gangs and cartels, especially among prison gangs. So prevalent is the practice that a pet cat of the Los Mexicles gang connected to the Sinaloa Cartel was recently found to be tattooed.
The new trend comes as Gov. Greg Abbott leads a national coalition of governors and states to increase the southern border’s security, as reported by The Dallas Express.
However, the federal government has sued Texas over the installation of buoys on the Rio Grande, claiming they violate the law and pose human rights issues. Abbott has promised to fight the lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court.
Texas Border Czar Mike Banks provided a demonstration in an effort to clear up misconceptions about the buoys. Reports previously claimed that two unlawful migrants were killed trying to cross the buoys, but such allegations are said to be false as one victim had apparently drowned crossing upstream and the other body was not found near the barriers.
In a recent Dallas speech, Abbott defended his decision to install the unlawful migration deterrents, saying, “I got news for Joe Biden, we are not removing the buoys or barriers.”
“The Constitution gives states the authority to secure our border when the federal government refuses to do so, and I will do whatever it takes to defend our state from the cartels that are invading our state and our country,” Abbott promised.
Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Carine Martinez explained the situation at the southern border following a recent trip in a statement received by The Dallas Express.
“My colleagues and I bore witness to the reality Texas border communities are facing every day as a result of loose federal enforcement of immigration laws,” she said. “This was both heartbreaking and infuriating.”
“The truth is Washington has abandoned — and sacrificed — border communities when it stopped enforcing immigration laws,” Martinez explained. “Texas has not, but Texas is also under assault by our own federal government, and by a Mexican government in cahoots with cartels, both trying to prevent Texas from doing the right thing: securing the border.”
Nevertheless, the federal Department of Homeland Security has defended the policies of President Joe Biden, saying, “The Administration’s plan is working as intended.”
Furthermore, Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has been the subject of criticism claiming that it is inhumane toward those attempting to enter the country unlawfully.
Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) recently sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding an investigation into the border security measures.
“Since he launched Operation Lone Star more than two years ago, Gov. Abbott has taken drastic measures to curb illegal immigration,” Gutierrez claimed. “What began as a farce has now turned into violent, horrifying injuries and death.”
