Tennessee is seeing an increase in the Venezuelan gang’s human trafficking operations in four major cities

Tennessee Police are warning of the rise in Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang activity in their four major cities, with a top law enforcement official placing the blame on the “porous” southern border.

“This gang has taken advantage of (the border),” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said on “Fox & Friends.” Friday.

Rausch said the gang has run human trafficking operations and expanded into other criminal activities in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

“They go from human trafficking to organized retail crime theft and then they move into the drug trade and attack the cartels in very violent, bloody battles that they’ve had.”

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Director David Rausch of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation joined “Fox & Friends” to discuss Tren de Aragua gang activity in the four major cities of his state.

Rausch added that TdA has “zero respect” for police and has attacked law enforcement across the United States. He added that the group was caught two years ago in a human trafficking operation but has returned in recent years.

Rausch said law enforcement is limited in their efforts to crack down on TdA-related activity, especially if suspects don’t have immigration “holds.”

“If we come across them and they have an arrest warrant on them, we can take them into custody. But other than that, we can only monitor and make sure they’re not breaking the law. But that’s a challenge,” said Rausch, calling it a “cat and mouse” game that is getting more dangerous.

Rausch warned Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) during a budget hearing on the resurgence of gangs in major Tennessee cities.

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The Department of Homeland Security recommended last month that more than 100 migrants it has identified as having possible ties to a bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang be placed on an FBI watch list, after the agency flagged more than 600 with possible ties overall.

NBC News first reported that DHS has identified more than 600 people with possible ties to Tren de Aragua and that 100 of them are considered “of interest.” Fox has confirmed that it recommended that they be placed on the FBI’s watch list for transnational criminal organizations.

The gang believed to have started in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since spread to Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the United States. In a statement, DHS said the identities emerged as part of an ongoing re-screening operation to tackle the gang.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.