From ‘Jumpman’ to Jumpsuits: The Symbolic 'Crimes' Landing Hundreds in a Notorious Salvadoran Prison

Part two in a four-part series examining the Trump administration’s violation of logical, legal, and ethical principles in unilaterally deporting hundreds of men to a Salvadoran maximum security prison. Part one: “Deported by Fallacy: ICE's Cruel Circular Logic for Sending Hundreds to a Brutal Salvadoran Prison.”

The overwhelming majority of the more than 200 men sent to El Salvador’s austere and brutal maximum security prison known by its Spanish acronym CECOT have no documented criminal record.

According to an April 6, 2025 60 Minutes investigation, only 22% of the men had a criminal record in the United States or abroad. The “vast majority” of these charges pertained to “theft, shoplifting, or trespassing.” Only about a dozen of the men sent to CECOT—around 5% of the men—have documented violent crime offenses including murder, rape, assault, or kidnapping. Three-quarters of the men have no record of criminal wrongdoing in or outside of the United States.

Screen shot of the 60 Minutes pie chart showing 75% of the Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration have no criminal record and 22% have criminal records in the U.S. and abroad. It is unclear if their is a criminal record for the remaining 3%.

Pressed to explain the men’s lack of a criminal record, a representative of the Department of Homeland Security told 60 Minutes, “Many of the individuals that are counted as 'non-criminals' are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more; they just don't have a rap sheet in the U.S.” This defense is consistent with prior statements by ICE’s acting director, Tom Homan, and Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, Robert Cerna. Each pointed to the absence of a documented criminal record as evidence for the deported men’s criminality.

As previously discussed, such arguments amount to fallacious circular arguments and appeals to ignorance in which the absence of evidence is cited as proof of guilt. But the absence of evidence proves nothing, certainly not someone’s guilt as a “monster,” “gang member,” or “terrorist,” as President Trump and ICE officials have characterized the men.

Given that the Trump administration openly admits to a lack of the kind of hard evidence expected of legitimate law enforcement efforts, family members of the deported, journalists, and the judiciary have demanded to know what information was relied on to decide which men to condemn to El Salvador’s dangerous, rights-violating prison system. Internal Trump administration documents filed in March 2025 court proceedings shed new lurid light on the matter.

While few of the men disappeared to El Salvador’s prison, noted for its physically and psychologically abusive conditions, had a criminal record, the government judged nearly all of the men symbolic criminals. Specifically, ICE and Homeland Security officials deemed the men guilty of gang membership because they donned tattoos featuring symbols like crowns and stars and because they wore attire including Air Jordan sneakers and Chicago Bulls hats.

An AI-generated image featuring a man jumping in the air with a basketball accompanied by three crowns. Beneath the jumping man’s legs is a prison complex, and the word “Deported” is stamped in red over the jumping man and crowns.

Hand Signs, Crown Tattoos, and Other Symbolic Crimes

According to the government’s documents, Venezuelan nationals and others are deemed members of the Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang and subject to deportation without due process for receiving 8 points on the government's TDA membership assessment. Those scoring as few as 6 points may also be considered for the same deportation process if approved by officers’ supervisors. The point system and penalty of deportation apply to those 14 years old and older.

The symbolic criteria for determining membership to TDA include being observed displaying “hand signs used by TDA” (2 points), “insignia, logos, notations, drawings, or dress known to indicate allegiance to TDA, as observed by law enforcement in person or via virtual mediums” (4 points). TDA membership can also be established when law enforcement observes “tattoos denoting membership/loyalty to TDA” (4 points).

A screen capture of the government’s criteria for validating who is subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act.

The government’s rubric: A Bulls jersey (4 pts) + clock tattoo (4 pts) = deportation to a Salvadorian prison.

Thus, a Venezuelan national could be deemed a member of TDA and subject to immediate deportation to a prison in El Salvador without the opportunity to defend oneself against any allegations of wrongdoing for 1) possessing tattoos and dressing in a manner indicative of TDA membership (8 points).

So what are the kinds of tattoos that the government believes are indicative of TDA membership? Here are seven of the nine listed by the government.

1) “Jump Man” (Michael Jordan) symbol

2) AK-47s

3) trains

4) crowns

5) clocks

6) stars

7) “Real Hasta La Muerte” Quote

A screen capture of the government’s criteria for determining TDA membership, as revealed in government filings.

The first is a reference to the iconic American basketball player, Michael Jordan. The “Jumpman” symbol features Jordan about to slam dunk the ball with characteristic flare— his arm is stretched upward, ball in hand, and legs spread out, in this case, over his jersey number, 23.

The next five tattoos are shown in the government's document as generic examples of each symbol. The government believes Venezuelans with tattoos of stars, or crowns, or trains, or clocks, or AK-47s are rightly suspected of TDA membership. The criteria are as unimaginative as frightening.

The quote “Real Hasta La Muerte” was popularized by Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA. Its American English equivalent is “ride or die,” denoting unwavering loyalty “until death.”

Possessing one of the aforementioned tattoos appears to have been enough to make a Venezuelan national an immediate suspect of being a member of TDA and earning them 4 points toward the 8 required to be deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

One man deemed a gang member and subject to deportation without due process was the Venezuelan professional soccer athlete, Jerce Reyes Barrios. In 2024, Barrios, who also coached youth soccer, sought refuge in the United States. He traveled to Mexico where he waited for four months before presenting himself to U.S. authorities to plead his asylum case. But Barrios was detained on suspicion of gang membership, and, in March 2025, deported to a Salvadoran maximum security prison.

Immigration officials under the Trump administration determined Barrios was a member of the TDA. The “evidence”? Immigration court documents include a 14 year-old Facebook post showing Barrios gesturing with his hands. ICE claimed the gesture was a gang sign. His girlfriend said it was a generic “rock and roll” gesture.

Barrios also had an offending “crown” tattoo (+4 pts). A superficial inspection of the tattoo recognizes that the crown sits atop a soccer ball. The tattoo is an unambiguous homage to Barrios’ favorite soccer team, Real Madrid.

Images of Barrios tattoo (+4 pts) and hand signs (+2pts), both used as "evidence" of his affiliation with the TDA gang.

From Fashion Choices to False Accusations

Barrios is not alone in enduring a Kafkaesque determination of guilt based on symbolic crime. Others like Maryland resident, Kilmar Garcia, were deemed to be gang members in part because of their banal fashion choices. According to a Homeland Security document, generic urban attire are grounds for determining TDA membership and meriting 4 points toward wartime deportation. According to the document, indicators of TDA membership include being

“Dressed in high-end urban street wear;

Favor the Chicago Bulls basketball jersey, specifically Michael Jordan jerseys with the number ‘23’, and Jordan ‘Jump Man’ footwear/sneakers; and/ or

Often wear sports attire from U.S. professional sports teams with Venezuelan nationals on them.”

So-called “urban” athletic attire was cited as “evidence” by ICE officials in claiming that Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang. Garcia was never “convicted” as a member of the gang as Vice President J.D. Vance claimed. Garcia was accused of being a member of the gang, according to law enforcement’s Gang Field Interview Sheet, on grounds that an unidentified confidential informant claimed he was a member of the gang and—this is not a joke—he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie. The claims were never substantiated in a court of law and Garcia was not convicted. According to Snopes, Garcia has no criminal record in the United States or El Salvador.

Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, an American citizen, speaks at a news conference on April 4, 2025.

Available evidence shows that it’s the Trump administration, not Garcia, who has acted illegally. On April 4, 2025, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis described Garcia’s deportation as an “illegal act,” and ordered the administration to return the Maryland resident to the United States. “The record reflects that Abrego Garcia was apprehended in Maryland without legal basis, wrote Judge Xinis. In 2019 an immigration judge ruled that Garcia was protected from deportation to El Salvador where he was likely to endure persecution from gangs. The Trump administration has claimed that Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error.” Meanwhile, as Garcia’s lawyer, Lucia Curiel, explained to Breaking Points, it is the man, his wife and three children that are now forced to bare the burden and pain of that illegal “error.”

An AI-generated image depicting a Chicago Bulls hat and Air Jordans as “evidence” of an unstated crime.

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The administration’s criteria for establishing TDA membership are bewilderingly insipid. Where do we begin in identifying the fallaciousness of the government’s criteria for determining TDA membership? Let’s start by observing that even if we obtained evidence of someone’s past TDA membership, we would not know if the person was still in the gang. People sometimes get tattoos they regret but may lack the means or opportunity to remove them. But even this line of criticism gives too much credence to the faulty assumptions built into the government’s criteria.

An AI-generated image that imagines an ICE officer holding up a bag labeled “evidence” that contains Air Jordan sneakers and a Jumpman hat.

The government's use of interest in Michael Jordan to determine gang loyalty is disturbingly dubious. Jordan is one of the most accomplished and noteworthy athletic figures in sports history, globally. His Air Jordan brand, which launched in the 1990s, has the Jumpman symbol as its logo. The sneaker and sportswear line is one of the most popular in U.S. fashion history. Air Jordan sneakers significantly contributed to the rise of the “sneakerhead” culture in which sneakers such as Air Jordans are fashion staples. In other words, Jordan is not only a global athletic icon but also a global fashion icon.

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Even if it were true that all members of TDA dress in “high-end urban street wear” and adorn their bodies with some combination of the Jumpman, stars, trains, and crowns, it would not mean that every Venezuelan national who does the same is a member of the TDA. These symbols are as likely to prove TDA membership as drinking orange juice is. The government fails to grasp the difference between something being a necessary condition for group membership—a common characteristic shared by all members of a particular group —and a sufficient condition—a characteristic that guarantees someone is a member of the group.

Think of it like this, liking sports is a necessary condition for liking soccer. If you didn’t like sports at all then you definitely wouldn’t like soccer since it’s a kind of sport. But we wouldn’t know if you like soccer if all we knew was that you liked sports. Maybe you like basketball and hate soccer. Liking sports is a necessary condition for liking soccer just as having a particular fashion style or tattoo (might) be a necessary condition for being a member of TDA. On the other hand, if you were an avid fan of Real Madrid (a soccer team), we would have a sufficient condition—a guarantee—that you liked soccer. Similarly, being found guilty in a court of law of committing a crime on behalf of the TDA would be a sufficient condition for determining that you are a participating member of that gang.

No reasonable person would endorse those in power assessing their innocence or guilt based on such “symbolic crime” criteria. The idea that men have been sent to one of the world’s most notorious prisons on such patently absurd conditions ought to unsettle the lovers of reason and liberty alike.

If this piece left you with more fury than hope, transform it. Contact your elected officials to educate them on the issue and tell them where you stand. Sample script below. Silence is the ally of injustice. Speak.

“People are being labeled Tren de Aragua members and deported to El Salvador's abusive CECOT prison based on tattoos of crowns (4 pts) and Michael Jordan imagery/ Sports Jerseys (4 pts). No evidence. No trial. Just a point system that would criminalize countless innocents. This violates the bedrock American principle that people are innocent until proven guilty. Where do you stand on the denial of due process and the deportation of U.S. residents like Kilmar Abrego Garcia?”

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