In Trump’s America, having the wrong tattoo can be enough to get you deported to a foreign prison – as long as you’re Venezuelan.
In the latest in a string of similar cases, Andry José Hernández Romero, a 23-year-old make-up artist from Venezuela, has been removed to a mega-prison in El Salvador. He sought asylum in the US last year, telling immigration officials that he was fleeing persecution due to his sexuality (he is gay) and his political beliefs. While travelling to a pre-arranged immigration centre he was detained by Immigrations and Customs (ICE) agents; because he has two crown tattoos with the words ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ below them, he was accused of being a member of the Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan criminal gang. After spending over six months in US custody, Romero is now being deported – along with many others – to a prison in El Salvador which is notorious for human rights violations and dismal conditions.
“The fact that this administration has taken somebody who is so vulnerable and put them into such a terrifying situation has just been horrific. We fear that if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone,” Melissa Shepard, one of the attorneys who is representing Andry, told the Guardian.
While Trump has faced legal challenges in court, he is determined to continue deporting Venezuelans without due process, denying them the right to defend themselves or to appeal the decision. Here’s everything you need to know about how and why he is doing this.
Why are people being sent to El Salvador in the first place?
The Trump administration says it is targeting Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal network which Trump claims is waging war against the US under the direction of the Venezuelan government – this is unlikely to be true, according to the assessment of US intelligence analysts. Tren de Aragua has been designated a foreign terrorist organisation, and Trump is invoking the ‘Alien Enemies Act of 1798’, which was last used in World War Two, to deport anyone accused of being a member.
For now this measure is limited to Venezuelans, but El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has offered the services of his prison to the United States for any criminals it wishes to deport, including people with citizenship.
What have tattoos got to do with it?
ICE is using a point-based ‘Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide’ to decide whether someone is a member of Tren de Agua. If someone scores higher than eight, they are deemed to be a legitimate target for deportation.
Self-identifying as a TdA member gets you ten points, as does having been convicted of a crime related to being a TdA member, but some of the other criteria are far more ambiguous. Being part of a group photo with two or more known members of TDA gets you two points, as does living with someone affiliated with the gang. Having a tattoo “denoting membership/loyalty to TdA” gets you four points, as does displaying “logos, notations, drawings or dress known to indicate allegiance to TdA”.
The following tattoos, according to a Homeland Security document, can be used to identify members: a jumping man symbol, an AK-47, trains, crowns, clocks, skulls with gas masks, stars, and the quotes “Hijos de Dios” (songs of God) or “real hasta la muerte” (until death). Some of these tattoos may imply an association with TdA, but the list as a whole is ridiculous: if a star tattoo is enough to get you deported to El Salvador then millennials are in big trouble.
The ICE guide advises its officers to consult with a supervisor if the tallied points are all related to symbolism or associations, but it does not rule out deporting people on these grounds.
What else is ICE looking out for?
It’s not just tattoos. According to the guide, other identifiers of being a gang member include “dressed in high-end urban street wear” and favouring “Chicago bulls basketball jersey, specifically Michael Jordan jerseys with the number 23 and Jordan ‘Jump Man’ footwear”. In what sounds more like an identifier of being Venezuelan than a member of Tren de Aragua, the guide also advises looking out for people who often wear sports attire from US professional sports teams with Venezuelan nationals on them.
Who else has been deported?
Over 300 Venezuelans have been deported to El Salvador since Trump came to power. Kilmar Armando Abrego was deported due to what the Trump administration admits was an “administrative error”, but it is now claiming that it doesn’t have the legal jurisdiction to bring him back. Last month, Neri Alvarado Borges was arrested by ICE officers due his tattoos – which include a rainbow-coloured autism awareness ribbon with the name of his autistic brother – and later removed to El Salvador.
Jerce Reyes Barrio, a youth soccer coach who had fled government persecution in Venezuela, was detained by ICE largely on the basis of his tattoos, which included the Real Madrid logo. It looks like the Tren de Aguara angle is providing the Trump administration with a handy excuse to deport as many Venezuelans as possible.
What are conditions like in El Salvador?
Not good at all. Bukele’s mega-prison, known by the Spanish acronym ‘CECOT’, has been slammed by human rights groups for inhumane conditions: in a report by Amnesty International, former inmates described crowded cells, physical and verbal abuse, disproportionate use of pepper spray, and severe restrictions on food, medicine, water and access to a toilet. Cristosal, a human rights group, has estimated that hundreds of inmates have died due to these factors. Bukele has also ordered a communications blackout, where prisoners are denied visits, phone calls or letters from their loved ones. The families of the Venezuelans deported there currently have no idea what is happening to them or when they might be released.
