Appearing at the same news conference as Banks, Gov. Greg Abbott formally declared Tren de Aragua a “foreign terrorist organization.” That allows the authorities to go after the gang under a beefed up anti-terrorism law and also allows for the creation of a task force assigned specifically to fight the group.

Abbott’s announcement comes as Donald Trump has campaigned against “migrant crime” and pushed exaggerated claims that the gang took over a town in Colorado.

Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.

They have a target on their back, and we are going after them. Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in,’ Governor Abbott says.