Enforcers of the Trump administration have not only deported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants but also sent them to a prison in El Salvador on March 15. Apparently, many of the Venezuelans were suspected as members of the Tren de Aragua, including one man with supposed gang tattoos. However, relatives of the deported Venezuelan man have insisted that the tattoos he had were for autism awareness and not gang insignias.
Neri Jose Alvarado Borges, 24, is the deported Venezuelan in question, and he currently sits in a prison in El Salvador while his family fights for his innocence. Borges’ sister, Lisbengerth Montilla, suspects that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials used the tattoos as supposed proof that Neri was a part of a gang. The tattoos, for the record, were merely names of Borges’ autistic younger brother and another one showing a rainbow ribbon for the autism acceptance movement.
Borges’ family has since decried the unlawful detention and deportation that Neri Jose suffered at the hands of the Trump administration enforcers. In fact, the Borges family has even confirmed Neri Jose’s innocence; he was also a psychology student before migrating to the US.
“None of these tattoos has anything at all to do with the Tren de Aragua. But for them [immigration authorities], anyone with a tattoo is connected to Tren de Aragua.
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 the money to buy anything. Many people fled because of the dictatorship in Venezuela, seeking a better future.
Not all of those people [deported to El Salvador] are criminals, and not all Venezuelans are bad people. We are from a decent, hard-working, and upstanding family. We’ve never had problems with anybody,” argues Montilla, thanks to Irish Star’s transcripts.
It’s worth noting that Trump still pushed through the separation despite a court order supposedly halting the operations until the accused have received a fair trial. Borges is among the hundreds who were wrongfully accused because of their tattoos.
In fact, earlier in the week, another man with a soccer tattoo was among the deported Venezuelans, and his tattoo, which this time wasn’t for autism, placed him under suspicion of being a Tren de Aragua member.
Were the Tattoos Just an Excuse?
Regardless, many people online have pointed out that Trump administration enforcers have deported and detained immigrants for less– even those without tattoos. ICE officers who aren’t even in uniform have been allegedly spotted kidnapping a Turkish international student in broad daylight.
Others have called out how ICE detains their suspects, calling the prisons concentration camps because of the poor conditions and the lack of a proper trial for most of the detainees. Any Venezuelan in the US right now– even those without criminal records is seems to be under a possible threat of either abduction, deportation, or detainment.
Even those with a valid visa or authorization letters to be in the US have been targeted by ICE based on their appearance and, likely, their skin color alone, just like what happened to the aforementioned Turkish student.
