"Emojis that officials claimed were commonly used by Tren de Aragua and part of members' code language include trains, swords, ninjas, aliens and strawberries. Gang experts and immigration attorneys who reviewed the records said the claims were ludicrous, uneducated and baseless and raised concerns that authorities could cite emojis to erroneously label people as Tren de Aragua members allegations that can have dire consequences, including deportation."
"The emoji references echo the Trump administration's widely scrutinized claims about tattoos: US immigration officials have suggested innocuous imagery constituted proof of Tren de Aragua membership and cited tattoos while deporting people to a notorious El Salvador prison. Experts have said there is no evidence that Tren de Aragua, which began in the Tocoron prison in the state of Aragua, has a clearly organized structure in the US."
US law enforcement agencies including the FBI, CBP, the US Army and the NYPD asserted that specific emojis on social media indicate affiliation with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Internal briefings, threat warnings and training materials identified trains, swords, ninjas, aliens and strawberries as code language. Gang experts and immigration attorneys labeled those claims ludicrous, uneducated and baseless and warned that emojis could be used to wrongly label people as gang members, risking deportation. The claims echo prior assertions that tattoos indicate membership and have been used during deportations to El Salvador. Experts reported no clear Tren de Aragua organizational structure in the US. The Trump administration has invoked the gang to justify deportations under the Alien Enemies Act and military action.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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