Immigration officers looked at Jerce Reyes Barrios and saw tattoos with a crown and the word “Dios” — both of which are considered by law enforcement to show someone is associated with Tren de Aragua, the violent criminal gang President Trump has declared a terrorist organization.
But his lawyer said to look closer. The crown sits atop a soccer ball, and is actually the logo for his favorite team, Real Madrid.
And the social media photos of Mr. Reyes Barrios flashing his hands with the thumb, index and pinkie fingers stretched out? U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement saw those as gang indicators.
But his lawyer, Linette Tobin, says he’s actually showing “I love you” in sign language, which she said is also “commonly used as a rock ‘n’ roll symbol.”
Mr. Reyes Barrios was among the more than 200 Venezuelans deported this past weekend to El Salvador in a case that’s quickly turned into a constitutional crisis.
Mr. Trump, invoking the 1798 law Alien Enemies Act, ordered the migrants deported as TdA gang members and thus terrorists engaged in an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” into the U.S.
A federal judge ordered planes grounded and any already in the air to be turned around. But, the Trump administration kept them en route to El Salvador, where the U.S. is paying $20,000 per person per year to house them in a maximum-security prison.
Judge James Boasberg is demanding answers about who was deported and why.
In filings with the court, lawyers insisted some people were ousted despite having no ties to the gang and are now being denied their chance at the American dream because of something as minor as a misconstrued tattoo.
Grace Carney, a lawyer for a migrant identified in court documents by initials GFF, said he fled Venezuela in part because they were being threatened by TdA.
“Moreover, G.F.F. has outlined individualized threats received from the gang on account of his sexuality,” the lawyer said.
She said GFF was connected to the gang when he was arrested at a party where TdA members were present. He denies membership and has no criminal history in the U.S. or elsewhere, Ms. Carney said.
GFF was pulled off a deportation flight just before it left on Saturday, with an official telling him he “just won the lottery.” He remains in ICE custody.
Mr. Reyes Barrios, who was deported, entered the U.S. through CBP One App, the smartphone tool the Biden administration created that allowed a million unauthorized migrants entry through a legally iffy “parole” status.
He has since applied for asylum — he said he was tortured, subjected to electric shocks and suffocation for opposing the Maduro regime in Venezuela — and was awaiting a ruling on his case when he was deported.
Also entering through CBP One was a man identified in court documents by the initials JABV.
He was admitted by the Biden administration even though border officials flagged his rose, clock and crown tattoos, citing them as “well-known” signs of TdA.
His lawyer denied that. “These are common in Venezuela and bear no exclusive association with gang affiliation,” his lawyer said in a filing with the judge.
ICE says its deportations are based on more than tattoos and social media.
Robert L. Cerna II, a senior official at the agency, said each person deported was checked against court records, investigative files and interviews with known TdA members. He said each was given an individual assessment by ICE officers and agents with expertise in gang activity.
“ICE did not simply rely on social media posts, photographs of the alien displaying gang-related hand gestures, or tattoos alone,” Mr. Cerna said.
Mr. Cerna acknowledged many of the deportees didn’t have criminal records in the U.S. but he said some had records elsewhere, including countries en route from Venezuela to the U.S.
That includes at least six people who were subjects of Interpol alerts.
He said getting TdA members out of the country quickly was of the utmost importance, saying ICE has struggled in trying to detain them, and fears they will use their time in detention to recruit others to the gang.
Deborah Fleischaker, a former ICE employee, said in her court filing that just isn’t true.
She said they can be segregated in pods only with other TdA members, and cells are searched and calls monitored. High-risk detainees can have their movements heavily restricted.
“ICE detention facilities in the United States are prepared to detain any noncitizen, regardless of their security risk level. This includes people with violent criminal histories, as well as members of gangs and foreign terrorist organizations,” she said.
