Why tattoos are such a unreliable marker for gait membership

The United States 238 Venezuelan men deported On three flights to El Salvador on March 15, 2025 and claimed that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang who got here in Venezuela.

Immigration officer Said that tattoos weren’t the only criteria to choose who they need to deport; However, A government document showed that the officers had depend on tattoos and clothing Determine gang membership.

A lawyer of Jerce Reyes Barrios, knowledgeable football player who’s one in every of the Venezuelans who’ve been deported to El Salvador, says the federal government Sticked and deported her client Because he has a tattoo of a football with a crown at the highest that resembles the emblem of his favorite football team, Real Madrid. The tattoo and a photograph of Barrios that take a hand signal implies that “I love it” in sign language is the one evidence that the federal government has presented his gang binding, in response to the lawyer.

In the meantime, Andry José Hernández Romero, the Venezuelan Magic Educator, on every wrist, one with “Papa” and one with “mom” that was written next to each crown. Immigration authorities specified In his file that these tattoos “found aspects to conclude reasonable suspicion of his membership within the gang of Tren de Aragua. Some government sources lists crowns as tattoo which are common for Tren de Aragua members, but but occupied other state sources Doubt about this claim.

Regardless of whether the Trump administration used tattoos as the only criteria for deportation or not, I even have present in my very own research that the usage of tattoos as criteria simply misrepresented law enforcement.

In 2023 I analyzed the reliability of tattoos as a marker for membership membership within the Washington Law Review.

Conclusion: While many individuals in gangs have tattoos who exhibit their membership, many individuals who’ve absolutely no gang ties get similar tattoos.

If you depend on you to find out the membership of the gangs, he has led systematically incorrectly discover People as gang members – Especially when tattoos have turn out to be more popular.

There are some kinds of tattoos that might be particularly misleading.

Geographical origin

In 2017, the US immigration and customs authority Daniel Ramirez Medina recorded, which was legitimate as a part of the postponed program for the promotion motion for the childhood program for childhood or Daca within the USA. The government tried to remove its status and deport it. He claimed that he was a gang member Because of a tattoo with the inscription “La Paz BCS”. La Paz is the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, which is abbreviated “BCS”. The Only evidence of a gait membership The ice agent presented before the immigration court was this tattoo.

However, they overlook the undeniable fact that tattoos that show the names or regional codes of the hometown or countries of origin are a typical opportunity for people to honor where they got here from.

This is very amongst individuals who hike or move away from their home countries. For example, Tattoos of “503” and “504” – The country codes with which El Salvador and Honduras were elected were identified that the variety of members of the gangs claimed that even many individuals who’ve these tattoos refuse gang bonds and no criminal records. The law enforcement has also depend on tattoos of the words “Mexican”, “Chicano” or “Brown Pride” As proof of a gait membership.

Some gangs, resembling The Mexican mafiaAdd a reference to nationality on behalf of the gang. And within the United States there are sometimes street gangs in certain parts of the town, whereby many gangs contain the town or road where they’re based in a way And associated tattoos. For this reason, tattoos that a city or a rustic have a good time can only result in confusion.

Tattoos of Maya or Aztec pictures were also used to call people as gang members, although these tattoos are clear types of expression of cultural identity and don’t necessarily have a connection for gang membership. While some gangs use certain Aztec symbols to discover members, it’s practically inconceivable to tell apart a tattoo of cultural or geographical importance from a tattoo that relies on gang agreement.

In the case of Medina, the US district judge Ricardo S. Martinez, a George W. Bush representative, ordered that his Daca status stays In place and that it’s protected against deportation because ICES “final knowledge” that he was a gang member, “refuted by experts and others”. In addition, an immigration judge who checked all evidence had already come to the conclusion that he was not in a gang.

Martinez was clearly disturbed by the claims of IC and wrote: “For the Court of Justice, the most troubling is the continued claim that Mr. Ramirez has not submitted any evidence for Mr. Ramirez for Mr. Ramirez in connection with his administrative procedure and does not offer evidence to the immigration court four months later.”

Religious pictures and popular culture

Tattoos of the favored Catholic religious pictures resembling the virgin of Guadalupe pray hands and rosaries, were also used In order to explain people as gang members, a step appears to be significantly overwhelmed.

While some gang members are Catholic, no one would attempt to say that each one Catholics are gang members. At least one in every of the deported Venezuelan men Had a rosary tattooTogether with tattoos at a clock and the name of his mother and niece with crowns on the text.

Tattoos have also turn out to be a crucial way for people to have a good time popular culture. For example, tattoos of the lips of a lady have turn out to be popular with gang members and non-gang members. A variety of skilled athletes, including football phenomenon Lionel MessiDo you’ve gotten tattoos of your partner's lips. However, this can also be a tattoo Criminal prosecution authorities used To categorize people as gang members.

According to the Texas Ministry of Public SecurityTattoos of stars on shoulders, crowns, firearms, grenades, trains, cubes, roses, tigers and jaguaries are common with members of Tren de Aragua.

The problem is, after all, that these symbols are also popular with people with no connection to the gang.

Inaccurate methodology

Understanding the issue really is determined by mathematics. While it might be true that many gang members have tattoos of the photographs listed above, it’s also true that many non-gang members have similar tattoos.

The Bayesian mathematical approach includes conclusions about probabilities based on available information. The likelihood that a gang member has a certain tattoo isn’t the identical because the probability that an individual with a certain tattoo is a gang member.

The US government appears to be wrongly equated.

The sociologist David Kennedy wrote concerning the more comprehensive problems of demanding membership in 2009 and argued The inability of the law to develop rules “This clearly distinguishes a gang and a soccer team or a gang member and his mother,” suggests that [is] An issue. “

This problem is enlarged if the accused doesn’t give proper procedure – this is strictly what happened with the Venezuelan men who whisk El Salvador.