The United States deported 238 Venezuelan men on three flights to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, claiming that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang that originated in Venezuela ...

Defense lawyers say some of the roughly 200 Venezuelan men the U.S. deported after accusing them of being gang members were targeted because of their everyday tattoos.

The administration appears to be using little more than body art to deport people that it says are members of Tren de Aragua, a move that critics say ignores decades of protocol.

Relying on them to determine gang membership has led to systematically misidentifying people as gang members – particularly as tattoos have become more popular.

Internal DHS and FBI documents question the effectiveness of using tattoos to identify Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua.

Relatives of some Venezuelan deportees believe the men were targeted as Tren de Aragua members based on their tattoos, but a gang expert said this isn’t a reliable identifier.

The bottom line: While many people in gangs have tattoos that demonstrate their membership, many people who have absolutely no gang ties also get similar tattoos.

Those are some of the everyday tattoos that defense lawyers say helped lead to the sudden weekend deportation of roughly 200 Venezuelan men who are accused of being members of the ruthless gang ...

Defense lawyers say some of the roughly 200 Venezuelan men the U.S. deported after accusing them of being gang members were targeted because of their everyday tattoos.