Latest news with #AlienEnemiesActValidationGuide
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DHS claims these tattoos show Venezuelan gang membership. The tattoo artists who did them say the truth is a lot more innocent
In its sweeping deportation campaign against Venezuelan immigrants, the Trump administration has repeatedly relied on tattoos to determine whether someone is a member of the feared criminal syndicate Tren de Aragua. But The Independent has found that the U.S. government's examples of TDA tattoos, created under the Biden administration, include art by artists in the UK and India, who say the tattoos they etched had innocent meanings. One honored the birth of a child, while another appears to commemorate the Aussie rock band AC/DC. 'It is mind-blowing that this is being used as an example of gang tattoos. It makes no sense at all,' the British artist whose clock tattoo appears in a 2024 Department of Homeland Security briefing on 'detecting and identifying' TDA members told The Independent. 'I have no relationship to Venezuelan gangs, and my art has nothing to do with them.' Other examples used by DHS can be found in online posts dating back up to 11 years, suggesting that they were acquired simply by searching the internet for tattoos of various topics, including crowns, trains, stars, clocks, and the words "Hijos de Dios" (meaning "sons of God"), or 'HJ' for short. "Yes, this tattoo was done by me," said Vipul Chaudhary, a tattooist in Gujarat, India whose image posted on Pinterest in 2021 appears to be the original version of DHS's 'HJ' example. "The person who got this tattoo is my friend, and he lives in Gujarat." The briefing is one of eight U.S. government documents, obtained by the transparency group Property of the People via public records requests and shared with The Independent, which reference tattoos as a way for law enforcement officers to spot potential members or affiliates of TDA. Largely compiled under Biden, these documents have now taken on new weight thanks to Trump's use of 18th-century wartime powers to deport hundreds of alleged TDA members with little to no due process — following a deal with El Salvador's president to hold them in a notoriously harsh mega-prison. Among those deported so far are Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, a gay makeup artist who has repeatedly denied any association with TDA, and Neri Alvarado Borges, who has an autism awareness tattoo in honor of his brother. 'Well, you're here because of your tattoos,' an ICE agent allegedly told Borges. 'We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.' Court papers shared by the ACLU suggest that DHS is using an "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide" to decide who can be deported, assigning different point values to various characteristics including tattoos. It's unclear whether these documents played any role in the current deportations. But they are some of the only public evidence available of what kind of tattoos DHS considers 'indicative' of someone 'possibly being a member or associate of TDA'. 'I can't say whether these particular documents were in the hands of particular agents at particular moments. What I can say is these documents have been circulated widely among law enforcement, and that the clear, intended purpose of these documents is to be instructional for law enforcement in identifying supposed TDA members,' said Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. Experts say that TDA, like most Venezuelan gangs, doesn't use tattoos to signal membership, and several documents seen by The Independent clearly warn officers not to rely solely on tattoos. 'It's an idea that has been taken from Central America… and has been incorrectly applied to Tren de Aragua,' Rebecca Hanson, a University of Florida professor who studies violence and policing in Venezuela, told The Independent. And while some of the example photographs of tattoos feature actual Venezuelan nationals detained at the U.S. border, others have more obscure origins. Take the elaborately detailed arm tattoo of a pocket watch and dove, which comes from the Instagram page of a tattoo artist in Nottingham, England. In DHS's version, someone has manually removed the artist's watermark. 'The tattoo was done in England on someone that is of caucasian ethnicity,' said the artist, who asked to remain anonymous. 'It was to represent the birth of his child and love.' In DHS's briefing the tattoo is blurred, but on the artist's Instagram page it clearly includes a date across the clock face. The artist called the DHS document linking it to TDA membership as a 'total misrepresentation' of the tattoo's meaning, saying: 'To me it honestly looks like they have just pulled random images off Google or Pinterest… I'm not happy that it's been used within some document about this issue.' The Independent has confirmed that the man who got the tattoo lives in the UK, but is withholding his identity out of respect for his privacy. Or take the 'HJ' tattoo inked in India by Vipul Chaudhary, which appears cropped and stretched in the DHS briefing. Chaudhary said he has known the tattoo's owner for about two or three years, and that rather than meaning 'Hijos de Dios', the letters are simply family initials. "My friend's name's first letter and his wife's names' first letter. That's all,' he told The Independent. Meanwhile, one of the examples of a train tattoo DHS provides was actually inked in 2019 by Revival Tattoos in the historic English seaside resort of Blackpool, according to a post on Pinterest. Revival did not respond to requests for comment, but the photo offers a clear clue to the tattoo's true meaning: the logo of Australian rock band AC/DC, who performed in front of a giant model train during their 2008-10 world tour. The other three train examples included in the documents were all featured in a 2015 article on the men's lifestyle site Next Luxury, entitled '70 Train Tattoo Ideas for Men'. DHS's example of a crown tattoo appears to have come from a Spanish-language tattoo ideas blog, while one of its 'Real hasta la muerta' examples came from the TikTok page of a Colombian tattoo artist — who indicated that it was actually quoting the debut album of widely popular Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Anuel AA. The photos' provenance was first spotted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigrant non-profit, UK-based political consultant Arieh Kovler, and Bluesky user @itsTyGrey. The documents themselves were first reported by USA Today. A spokesperson for DHS did not respond to questions from The Independent. The documents seen by The Independent predate Trump's recent declaration of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, spanning July 2023 to January 2025. They bear the marks of various government agencies such as DHS, the FBI, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Although some documents are based purely on photos and details of named Venezuelan nationals whom agents suspected of TDA links, several incorporate internet material with no apparent connection to the gang. In one briefing from the Homeland Security Investigations's Chicago Field Division, whose serial number suggests it was created in 2024, eight out of the nine reference photos appear to have come from innocuous online posts. 'Open source material has depicted TDA members with a combination of the below tattoos,' it reads (see Exhibit 2 here), under the heading 'DETECTING AND IDENTIFYING'. Most of the documents offer little detail about how agents decided certain designs were linked to TDA. The exception is a DHS summary of an interview with Venezuelan asylum seeker who claimed to have been a high-ranking police officer in his home country, and who described tattoos as 'the easiest but least effective way' to spot TDA members. 'The documents make plain what should have already been obvious: The use of tattoos to justify these deportations is a ploy to disguise nativism and cruelty as a national security imperative,' said Shapiro from Property of the People. On DHS's 'Alien Enemies' scorecard, tattoos linked to gang membership is worth four points, while clothing such as 'high-end streetwear' or Michael Jordan gear counts for another four. That is despite some of the documents explicitly warning that these alone are not proof of TDA membership. ICE only needs eight points, according to the guide, to determine whether a suspect is a 'validated member' of Tren de Aragua and can be summarily deported. The ACLU has accused DHS of wrongly deporting people with no opportunity to challenge the claims against them, and multiple judges have ordered such deportations be halted. Officials have admitted that at least one of the prisoners was deported in error. 'That they are placing so much weight on common tattoos and hand gestures is inconsistent with what experts say are reliable methods of determining TDA membership,' ACLU's lead counsel on the case Lee Gelernt told The Independent. When The Independent questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about these criteria on Monday, she did not dispute the document but said DHS considers a 'litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these individuals qualify as foreign terrorists.' Then she turned her fire on our reporter. "Shame on you and shame on the mainstream media for trying to cover [for] these individuals," she said. Additional reporting by Alex Woodward.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How the Trump administration is using tattoos to lock up immigrants in El Salvador
The results of a scorecard appear to be enough to determine whether Venezuelan immigrants can be sent to a notorious El Salvador prison and remain there indefinitely. Under Donald Trump's order invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the fourth time in U.S. history, Venezuelans over age 14 who are determined to be 'members' of the Tren de Aragua gang can be summarily deported as 'alien enemies.' Immigration and Customs Enforcement relies on an 'Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide' to decide whether those Venezuelans are members of a gang the administration has labelled a terrorist organization, according to a guide shared by attorneys for the ACLU. All it takes is a score of eight, according to the guide. Tattoos alone are four points. 'Dress' associated with Tren de Aragua — including 'high-end streetwear' and clothing with Michael Jordan logos — is another four points. ICE officers also appear to have wide discretion to deport alleged gang members if that score is a few points short after consulting with supervisors and 'reviewing the totality of the facts.' But court documents and affidavits from attorneys for dozens of people who were deported to El Salvador suggest that ICE has repeatedly targeted Venezuelan immigrants for their tattoos, regardless of their meaning, as evidence of their alleged affiliation with Tren de Aragua. Attorneys suggest Venezuelans were wrongly targeted for their tattoos as a pretext for the Trump administration to swiftly remove hundreds of immigrants all at once to a jail that human rights groups have labeled a 'tropical gulag.' 'While these errors would be troublesome in any case, they are particularly devastating here, where Plaintiffs have strong claims for relief under our immigration laws and have ended up in one of the worst prisons in the world,' according to ACLU attorneys. As examples of tattoos the government claims are evidence of Tren de Aragua membership, ICE relies on photographs of tattoos — including Michael Jordan's 'jumpman' logo and nautical stars once popular with millennials — that were pulled from the internet and tattoo artists' social media accounts, according to materials from Department of Homeland Security investigators revealed in court documents. When The Independent questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the criteria on Monday, she did not dispute the document but said the Department of Homeland Security considers a 'litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these individuals qualify as foreign terrorists.' 'Shame on you and shame on the mainstream media for trying to cover these individuals,' she said. 'You are questioning the credibility of these agents who are putting their life on the line to protect your life and the life of everybody in this group?' she added. 'And their credibility should be questioned? They finally have a president who is allowing them to do their jobs and God bless them for doing it." Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, a gay makeup artist, has a crown tattoo on each arm with the words 'mom' and 'dad' below them. He passed a credible fear interview in his request for asylum in the United States following his persecution in Venezuela for his sexuality and political views, which were broadcast on a government-sponsored news channel where he worked, according to his attorneys. He has repeatedly denied any association with Tren de Aragua. But he was 'deported without any notice to him or his attorney,' according to lawyers with the ACLU. 'Two days later, at his court hearing, his attorney learned for the first time of his removal. … Even then the government's attorney did not know the basis for removal.' Neri Alvarado Borges was told by ICE officers that he was arrested in February for his tattoos — one of which is a rainbow-colored autism awareness ribbon with the name of his brother, who is autistic. 'Well, you're here because of your tattoos,' an ICE agents told Borges, according to his boss, Juan Enrique Hernandez. 'We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.' He was 'clean,' the officer told him, according to Hernandez. But another agent held him in ICE custody. He was deported to El Salvador weeks later. Jerce Reyes Barrios, described by his attorneys as a professional soccer player and a youth soccer coach, fled Venezuela for the United States after he was arrested and 'tortured' by 'election shocks and suffocation' for marching in demonstrations protesting Nicolas Maduro's regime. He registered with the CBP One app in Mexico for an appointment with an immigration officer last year, but was taken into ICE custody in San Diego, where he was accused of being a member of Tren de Aragua, largely based on his tattoos — which include a crown on a soccer ball, a tribute to his favorite club Real Madrid, according to a sworn statement from his attorney. 'Barrios was never given the opportunity to explain this because he was removed prior to his immigration hearing, which was set for just over a month after the government deported him,' attorneys wrote. 'The government's errors are unsurprising, given the methods it is employing to identify members of [Tren de Aragua],' they added. The checklist also suggests merely texting someone who is a 'known member' of the gang adds six points to the so-called 'verification guide.' Sending a 'known member' money through Venmo or CashApp is another three points. For example, someone who has lived in the same house or is a family member of an alleged member — 'residing' with him or pictured in a 'group photo' or 'social media posts,' all two points each — could also be targeted for removal despite having nothing to do with the gang. The criteria echoes ICE guidelines for identifying gang membership, which similarly determines whether someone is in a gang based on at least two 'gang membership identification criteria,' such as tattoos. ICE has redacted criteria from its guide. Otherwise, ICE defines a 'gang member' as someone 'who admits to being in a gang or who has a gang-related conviction.' If the courts allow the administration to continue summarily removing immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, 'the government will be free to send hundreds more individuals, without notice, to the notorious Salvadoran prison where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives,' according to ACLU attorneys, who are seeking a preliminary injunction to continue freezing Alien Enemies Act deportations while a legal challenge plays out. Administration officials have admitted in court filings that 'many' Venezuelans sent to El Salvador do not have criminal records. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio conceded that people on those flights were not all necessarily members of Tren de Aragua but a 'combination of people' whose presence is 'not productive to the United States' and who were 'removable' by law. The government 'secretly rushed the men out of the country and has provided Plaintiffs with no information' about the evidence against them, according to ACLU attorneys. But evidence suggests many of those men are not 'members' of Tren de Aragua, under the president's proclamation, and 'many have no ties to [Tren de Aragua] at all,' they added. Trump secretly invoked the Alien Enemies Act as three flights were preparing to depart from the United States on March 15 with dozens of Venezuelan immigrants on board. The planes were still in the air when District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn them around. Judge Boasberg has pressed officials to answer a series of questions about the operation to determine whether they intentionally defied his court orders, teeing up what legal experts fear is a mounting constitutional crisis in which the president ignores the judiciary — and possibly the Supreme Court — as he cites inherent authority to summarily remove immigrants from the country. The Trump administration has invoked a 'state secrets privilege' — typically used to prevent the release of information that could compromise national security — to avoid answering additional questions about the flights. Appellate judges have upheld Boasberg's restraining orders, and the administration is asking the Supreme Court to intervene. Appellate Judge Karen Henderson wrote that the Alien Enemies Act gives the president 'near-blanket authority to detain and deport any noncitizen whose affiliation traces to the belligerent state.' But a 'central limit to this power is the act's conditional clause — that the United States be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion,' she wrote. Trump 'plucks the third-order usage' of the word 'invasion' to justify summary deportations, and immigration alone also does not constitute a 'predatory incursion,' the ruling states. In a concurring opinion, appellate Judge Patricia Millett rebuked the government's argument that immigrants, on allegations alone, 'can be removed immediately with no notice, no hearing, no opportunity — zero process — to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered.' The 'Constitution's demand of due process cannot be so easily thrown aside,' she wrote. Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
How the Trump administration is using tattoos to lock up immigrants in El Salvador
The results of a scorecard appear to be enough to determine whether Venezuelan immigrants can be sent to a notorious El Salvador prison and remain there indefinitely. Under Donald Trump 's order invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the fourth time in U.S. history, Venezuelans over age 14 who are determined to be 'members' of the Tren de Aragua gang can be summarily deported as 'alien enemies.' Immigration and Customs Enforcement relies on an 'Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide' to decide whether those Venezuelans are members of a gang the administration has labelled a terrorist organization, according to a guide shared by attorneys for the ACLU. All it takes is a score of eight, according to the guide. Tattoos alone are four points. 'Dress' associated with Tren de Aragua — including 'high-end streetwear' and clothing with Michael Jordan logos — is another four points. ICE officers also appear to have wide discretion to deport alleged gang members if that score is a few points short after consulting with supervisors and 'reviewing the totality of the facts.' But court documents and affidavits from attorneys for dozens of people who were deported to El Salvador suggest that ICE has repeatedly targeted Venezuelan immigrants for their tattoos, regardless of their meaning, as evidence of their alleged affiliation with Tren de Aragua. Attorneys suggest Venezuelans were wrongly targeted for their tattoos as a pretext for the Trump administration to swiftly remove hundreds of immigrants all at once to a jail that human rights groups have labeled a ' tropical gulag.' 'While these errors would be troublesome in any case, they are particularly devastating here, where Plaintiffs have strong claims for relief under our immigration laws and have ended up in one of the worst prisons in the world,' according to ACLU attorneys. As examples of tattoos the government claims are evidence of Tren de Aragua membership, ICE relies on photographs of tattoos — including Michael Jordan's 'jumpman' logo and nautical stars once popular with millennials — that were pulled from the internet and tattoo artists' social media accounts, according to materials from Department of Homeland Security investigators revealed in court documents. When The Independent questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the criteria on Monday, she did not dispute the document but said the Department of Homeland Security considers a 'litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these individuals qualify as foreign terrorists.' 'Shame on you and shame on the mainstream media for trying to cover these individuals,' she said. 'You are questioning the credibility of these agents who are putting their life on the line to protect your life and the life of everybody in this group?' she added. 'And their credibility should be questioned? They finally have a president who is allowing them to do their jobs and God bless them for doing it." Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, a gay makeup artist, has a crown tattoo on each arm with the words 'mom' and 'dad' below them. He passed a credible fear interview in his request for asylum in the United States following his persecution in Venezuela for his sexuality and political views, which were broadcast on a government-sponsored news channel where he worked, according to his attorneys. He has repeatedly denied any association with Tren de Aragua. But he was 'deported without any notice to him or his attorney,' according to lawyers with the ACLU. 'Two days later, at his court hearing, his attorney learned for the first time of his removal. … Even then the government's attorney did not know the basis for removal.' Neri Alvarado Borges was told by ICE officers that he was arrested in February for his tattoos — one of which is a rainbow-colored autism awareness ribbon with the name of his brother, who is autistic. 'Well, you're here because of your tattoos,' an ICE agents told Borges, according to his boss, Juan Enrique Hernandez. 'We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.' He was 'clean,' the officer told him, according to Hernandez. But another agent held him in ICE custody. He was deported to El Salvador weeks later. Jerce Reyes Barrios, described by his attorneys as a professional soccer player and a youth soccer coach, fled Venezuela for the United States after he was arrested and 'tortured' by 'election shocks and suffocation' for marching in demonstrations protesting Nicolas Maduro's regime. He registered with the CBP One app in Mexico for an appointment with an immigration officer last year, but was taken into ICE custody in San Diego, where he was accused of being a member of Tren de Aragua, largely based on his tattoos — which include a crown on a soccer ball, a tribute to his favorite club Real Madrid, according to a sworn statement from his attorney. 'Barrios was never given the opportunity to explain this because he was removed prior to his immigration hearing, which was set for just over a month after the government deported him,' attorneys wrote. 'The government's errors are unsurprising, given the methods it is employing to identify members of [Tren de Aragua],' they added. The checklist also suggests merely texting someone who is a 'known member' of the gang adds six points to the so-called 'verification guide.' Sending a 'known member' money through Venmo or CashApp is another three points. For example, someone who has lived in the same house or is a family member of an alleged member — 'residing' with him or pictured in a 'group photo' or 'social media posts,' all two points each — could also be targeted for removal despite having nothing to do with the gang. The criteria echoes ICE guidelines for identifying gang membership, which similarly determines whether someone is in a gang based on at least two 'gang membership identification criteria,' such as tattoos. ICE has redacted criteria from its guide. Otherwise, ICE defines a 'gang member' as someone 'who admits to being in a gang or who has a gang-related conviction.' If the courts allow the administration to continue summarily removing immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, 'the government will be free to send hundreds more individuals, without notice, to the notorious Salvadoran prison where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives,' according to ACLU attorneys, who are seeking a preliminary injunction to continue freezing Alien Enemies Act deportations while a legal challenge plays out. Administration officials have admitted in court filings that 'many' Venezuelans sent to El Salvador do not have criminal records. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio conceded that people on those flights were not all necessarily members of Tren de Aragua but a 'combination of people' whose presence is 'not productive to the United States' and who were 'removable' by law. The government 'secretly rushed the men out of the country and has provided Plaintiffs with no information' about the evidence against them, according to ACLU attorneys. But evidence suggests many of those men are not 'members' of Tren de Aragua, under the president's proclamation, and 'many have no ties to [Tren de Aragua] at all,' they added. Trump secretly invoked the Alien Enemies Act as three flights were preparing to depart from the United States on March 15 with dozens of Venezuelan immigrants on board. The planes were still in the air when District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to turn them around. Judge Boasberg has pressed officials to answer a series of questions about the operation to determine whether they intentionally defied his court orders, teeing up what legal experts fear is a mounting constitutional crisis in which the president ignores the judiciary — and possibly the Supreme Court — as he cites inherent authority to summarily remove immigrants from the country. The Trump administration has invoked a 'state secrets privilege' — typically used to prevent the release of information that could compromise national security — to avoid answering additional questions about the flights. Appellate judges have upheld Boasberg's restraining orders, and the administration is asking the Supreme Court to intervene. Appellate Judge Karen Henderson wrote that the Alien Enemies Act gives the president 'near-blanket authority to detain and deport any noncitizen whose affiliation traces to the belligerent state.' But a 'central limit to this power is the act's conditional clause — that the United States be at war or under invasion or predatory incursion,' she wrote. Trump 'plucks the third-order usage' of the word 'invasion' to justify summary deportations, and immigration alone also does not constitute a 'predatory incursion,' the ruling states. In a concurring opinion, appellate Judge Patricia Millett rebuked the government's argument that immigrants, on allegations alone, 'can be removed immediately with no notice, no hearing, no opportunity — zero process — to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered.' The 'Constitution's demand of due process cannot be so easily thrown aside,' she wrote.
Miami Herald
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
U.S. uses point system to identify, deport Venezuelans it says are Tren de Aragua members
The Trump administration is using a point system to decide which Venezuelans should be deported as suspected members of the feared Tren de Aragua gang, according to federal court documents. The document says the system is to be used in making deportation decisions under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act against Venezuelans who are over the age of 14 who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The process, which the administration calls a 'validation guide,' says suspected gang members who score eight points or higher in a scale that goes up to 81 can be deported under the Act, a 227-year old law last used during World War II that President Donald Trump invoked on March 15. The Act was used that same day to send hundreds of Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador. The American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants' Rights Project filed a copy of the document, the Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide, as an exhibit in a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. The document appears to give discretion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to deport Venezuelans who score less than eight points. However, the ICE officer must consult with a supervisor and the agencys' Office of the Principal Legal Advisor before making the decision. If the decision is made to not validate the individual as a Tren de Aragua member and removal is deemed appropriate, ICE officers are required to initiate deportation under another federal law — the Immigration and Nationality Act, which enforces stricter measures such as increased scrutiny of potential immigrants, expedited deportations, and tougher naturalization procedures. The Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide is broken down into five categories to validate whether someone is a member of the gang, abbreviated to TDA, using the point-scoring system: ▪ Judicial Outcomes and Official Documents (15 points): This category includes convictions in which the person was involved in criminal activities that advance the gang's objectives, as well as documents like indictments or sentencing that confirm membership in TDA and describe specific TDA-related actions. ▪ Self-Admission (10 points): If the person verbally or in writing self-identifies as a member or associate of TDA to law enforcement, even inadvertently, such as through lawful interception of communications. ▪ Criminal Conduct and Information (17 points): This category includes several factors, such as participation in criminal activities with TDA members, law enforcement or intelligence reports identifying the subject as a TDA member, testimonies from victims or informants, and open-source media reports detailing the subject's arrest or activities related to TDA. Additionally, financial transactions indicating criminal activity, such as money laundering, contribute to the score. ▪ Documents and Communications (25 points): This includes written or electronic communications with known TDA members, such as emails or texts, phone calls discussing TDA-related business, financial transactions linked to criminal activity, and possession of documents that suggest membership or allegiance to TDA. ▪ Symbolism (14 points): Scoring includes visible symbols of TDA affiliation such as tattoos, social media posts, graffiti marking TDA territory, hand signs, or clothing with TDA-related insignia observed by law enforcement, either in person or through virtual means. Several Venezuelan families who spoke with the Miami Herald reported that their family members were targeted as members of Tren de Aragua based solely on tattoos, with no other convictions, admissions, criminal conduct or documentation linking them to the gang. One Venezuelan, who had been granted refugee status by the US. government after a 17-month background check, was deported to El Salvador despite the approval of their protection status. Another Venezuelan who had no tattoos and whose asylum claim was pending was also deported to the mega prison. READ MORE: Trump sent these Venezuelans to El Salvador mega prison. Their families deny gang ties. Some of the tattoos Homeland Security has linked to the Tren de Aragua gang include images of trains, AK47s, stars, the 'Jumpman' logo 23 — an iconic tattoo associated with basketball star Michael Jordan when he played in the Chicago Bulls — clocks, and phrases like Real hasta la muerte — Real until death — a common slogan used by Puerto Rican rapper Anuel. Experts who have investigated gangs in Venezuela for over a decade, before Tren de Aragua became an international organization, reject the idea that the group identifies its members through tattoos, unlike Central American gangs like Maras Salvatrucha, which are known for using tattoos as a form of identification. The experts argue that tattoos alone should not be considered valid evidence of TDA gang affiliation. Last week, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the eforts to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. A brief filed by Acting Solicitor General Sarah H. Harris urged the high court to vacate a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, which had blocked further deportation flights. The lower court's ruling emphasized the lack of a process allowing the accused gang members to challenge their designation under the 1798 law. Boasberg has said that the government must prove the individuals targeted for deportation are indeed 'alien enemies' before removing them from the country. Despite the ruling, the government transferred 17 more individuals, including seven Venezuelans, to El Salvador over the weekend.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE List Shows How Tattoos and Clothing Are Used to Label Immigrants as Gang Members
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has obtained a list from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that reveals just how terrifyingly easy it is for the government to designate a Venezuelan immigrant as an 'Alien Enemy,' including allowing ICE officers to declare tattoos and items of clothing as containing gang signs. Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick shared on X (formerly Twitter) a copy of the 'Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide' on Sunday. The guide outlines a point system ICE can use to deport immigrants it designates as members of the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang and send them to the infamously cruel and inhumane Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. Earlier this month, the administration flew nearly 300 Venezuelans to CECOT because it alleged they were members of TDA despite a court order instructing the government not to deport the immigrants. The administration has appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing judges do not have legal authority to halt its deportations. The ACLU and Democracy Forward have filed suit against the administration over the deportations, saying they violate the limits of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and 'improperly attempt… to bypass the procedures and protections in immigration law.' According to the checklist, an ICE official must determine that the immigrant is a Venezuelan citizen older than 14. After that, the guide lays out a point system the agency created with different allegations and point allotments. Any conviction for violating 'federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil penalties for activity related to TDA' constitutes 10 points. Self-identifying 'as a member or associate of TDA verbally or in writing to law enforcement… even if that self-identification to a law enforcement officer is unwitting, e.g., through lawful interception of communications' is also 10 points. Communicating with known TDA members is six points. A section titled 'Symbolism' allots four points for having 'tattoos denoting membership/loyalty to TDA' or wearing clothing 'to indicate allegiance to TDA.' Social media posts 'displaying symbols of TDA or depicting activity with other known members of TDA' get two points. In the 'Association' section, merely being in 'group photos with two or more known members of TDA' or living with known members of TDA is worth two points. Eight points or more is enough to classify immigrants 'validated as members of TDA.' For example, someone could be given six points for texting with a 'known member of TDA' and another three points for sending money to a 'known member' of TDA, Reichlin-Melnick pointed out. That totals to nine points, enough for deportation as an alleged TDA member. The guide notes that if all points are from the Symbolism and/or Association categories, agents should 'consult your supervisor and [the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor] before determining whether to validate the alien as a member of TDA.' But if a supervisor allows it, a Venezuelan adult in the U.S. who has tattoos and clothing an ICE officer says contain TDA symbols could be deported to CECOT for those reasons alone. It's a scary thought, especially considering the case of Neri Alvarado Borges, a native of Venezuela who ICE sent to CECOT with several dozen other Venezuelans the government accused — without due process — of affiliating with TDA. Alvarado told a friend that an ICE agent told him he was detained 'because of your tattoos.' 'We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos,' the ICE agent said, according to what Alvorado said to his friend, who spoke to Mother Jones. Alvarado has a tattoo of an autism awareness ribbon in tribute to his 15-year-old brother who is autistic. Even though Alvorado said an ICE agent later declared him 'clean' after searching his phone and hearing Alvorado's explanation of the meaning behind his tattoos (the agent reportedly said, 'I'm going to put down here that you have nothing to do with Tren de Aragua') they still sent him to CECOT where he remains. 'With this checklist, ICE can declare any Venezuelan an 'Alien Enemy' without ANY concrete evidence — based solely on an ICE officer's interpretation of tattoos and hand signs, or the bad luck of having a roommate ICE thinks is TDA,' Reichlin-Melnick wrote. 'This is why due process matters!' More from Rolling Stone ICE Is Canceling Students' Legal Status Without Informing Them or Their Schools: Report Trump Admits He's Open to Using 'Military Force' to Seize Greenland Trump Says He Is 'Very Angry' and 'Pissed Off' at Putin Over Ukraine Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
