How Tattoos Got Venezuelans Deported From US Amid Immigration Crackdown

An official document issued by the Department of Homeland Security, states without giving an explanation how, that the subject identified as “Member/Active of Tren de Aragua”, has several tattoos and has no known criminal history “at this time”, they also call the accused a “Deportable/Excludable Alien”. This document has been reviewed by the Guardian.

Like many other Venezuelans, Franco José Caraballo Tiapa, loves tattoos. He has one of a rose, lion, a razor blade that represents his work as a barber, and two other tattoos to pay tribute to his eldest daughter Shalome. He is one of many Venezuelan asylum seekers shipped to El Salvador by the Trump administration as a part of their immigration crackdown.

His attorney, Martin Rosenow, says, “He's just a normal kid … he likes tattoos – that's it.” He added, “Experts in Venezuela who study the gang have all stated that there are no tattoos that associate gang members. It's not like the Central American MS-13 gang where tattoos are relevant in their organisation.”

The US immigration officials appear to have taken tattoos as proof of the person being a member of Venezuela's most notorious gang, Tren de Aragua.

Last month, the US designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organisation and President Donald Trump used wartime powers called the Alien Enemies Act to deport people who can be considered as threats.

Neri José Alvarado Borges, another Venezuelan deported to El Salvador, said that he was a psychology student who was forced to give up his studies and migrate to the US because of Venezuela's economic collapse. He had three tattoos, which said, “Family”, “Brothers” and another one featuring the name of his autistic younger brother, Neryelson. 

“None of these tattoos has anything at all to do with the Tren de Aragua,” said his sister, Lisbengerth Montilla. “But for them [immigration authorities] anyone with a tattoo is connected to Tren de Aragua.”

She added, “Many of us have come here because of the situation back in our country. There were times when we didn't even have food to eat or have the money to buy anything. Many people fled because of the dictatorship in Venezuela, seeking a better future.”

Luis Carlos José Marcano Silva, also a barber, was detained at an immigration hearing in Miami last month. “[At the hearing] all they kept telling him was that he belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang. When his wife contacted the lawyer, they said it was probably because of his tattoos,” said his mother Adelys del Valle Silva Ortega. He was also deported to El Salvador. He had three tattoos, one of Jesus of Nazareth, another of his daughter and third of a crown.

Francisco Javier García Casique was also deported to El Salvador, and had tattoos of a rose, a compass, a tattoo that said, “Family”, a phrase that said, “God chooses his toughest battles for his best warriors” and a fifth tattoo that said “Vivir el momento” (Live in the Moment).
In a declaration, Anyelo Sarabia González's sister Solanyer Michell Sarabia González said that her brother had been detained by immigration agents and they had asked him, “about a tattoo that is visible on his hand”. She said her brother had been deported to El Salvador “under the false pretence that he was a member of Tren de Aragua”.

Per the White House, the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador are “heinous monsters” and terrorists, but have not yet released details about their identities or alleged crimes.