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.
