Gang Tattoos and U.S. Immigration – The Legal Logic Behind Deportations

Southern California gang member convicted of murder. The tattoo detailed the shooting of 23-year-old John Juarez in Pico Rivera on Jan. 23, 2004. (Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

​In March 2025, the Trump administration ramped up its fight against Latin American gangs, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport about 250 Venezuelan men to El Salvador, with plans to expel 300 more suspected Tren de Aragua gangsters soon after.

These individuals, tied to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua...