Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For Deportation
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem receives a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center CECOT with the Minister of Justice and Public Security Gustavo Villatoro in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)
With the made-for-viral-video deportation flights of accused gang members being deported by the Trump Administration, the criteria used to determine who is a gang member and subject to extrajudicial deportation is being hotly debated.
Read the Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide for yourself here:
Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide,
From the Miami Herald:
The Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide is broken down into five categories to validate whether someone is a member of the gang, abbreviated to TDA, using the point-scoring system:
▪ Judicial Outcomes and Official Documents (15 points): This category includes convictions in which the person was involved in criminal activities that advance the gang’s objectives, as well as documents like indictments or sentencing that confirm membership in TDA and describe specific TDA-related actions.
▪ Self-Admission (10 points): If the person verbally or in writing self-identifies as a member or associate of TDA to law enforcement, even inadvertently, such as through lawful interception of communications.
▪ Criminal Conduct and Information (17 points): This category includes several factors, such as participation in criminal activities with TDA members, law enforcement or intelligence reports identifying the subject as a TDA member, testimonies from victims or informants, and open-source media reports detailing the subject’s arrest or activities related to TDA. Additionally, financial transactions indicating criminal activity, such as money laundering, contribute to the score.
▪ Documents and Communications (25 points): This includes written or electronic communications with known TDA members, such as emails or texts, phone calls discussing TDA-related business, financial transactions linked to criminal activity, and possession of documents that suggest membership or allegiance to TDA.
▪ Symbolism (14 points): Scoring includes visible symbols of TDA affiliation such as tattoos, social media posts, graffiti marking TDA territory, hand signs, or clothing with TDA-related insignia observed by law enforcement, either in person or through virtual means. The symbolism section has five subcategories:
▪ The person has tattoos denoting their membership or loyalty to TDA (4 points).
▪ The person’s social media displays symbols of the TDA or depictis activities with other known TDA members (2 points). ▪ The person is observed tagging or using graffitti to mark territory and show loyalty to TDA (2 points). ▪ The person is observed displaying hand signs used by TDA (2 points).
▪ The person displays insignia, logos, notations, drawings, or dress known to indicate allegiance to TDA, as observed by law enforcement in person or through virtual means (4 points).According to the documents filed in court, the Department of Homeland Security also associates the use of “high-end” urban street wear, as well as Chicago Bulls basketball jerseys, especially the one worn by former star Michael Jordan with the number “23,” and the Jordan “Jump Man” sneakers, as part of the attire worn by alleged TDA members. The validation guide says that if a person scores 8 points or higher based on symbolism but has no points from other categories like criminal behavior, authorities must consult a supervisor and the Office of Principal Legal Advisor before proceeding with an Alien Enemy Act removal. However, if a person scores 5 points or less, or if deportation is initiated under another federal law, the document says, it does not mean the person is not an Alien Enemy. The document says new information may arise that could justify revisiting a prior decision to not proceed with an Alien Enemy Act removal.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had this exchange with reporters over the use of the “points” system when challenged if it the system was proper due process:
How many points are needed for deportation? For “knowing” that someone is in a gang?Report
Based on their performance so far? Zero. But to be generous I’ll assume it’s one.Report
It’s 8 for them to remove them just because one person decides, if it’s 6 or 7 they have consult a supervisor.
It is worth pointing out that this basically means they are counting everyone who lives with a claimed member of TDA as themselves a claimed member of TDA, because they’d hit all 6 points of ‘Association’ and probably have at least Symbolism (b) in that there are certainly social media posts that include pictures of people they live.
Same logic with family members: Documentations and Communications (a) is worth 6 and is literally just phone calls. Add a picture in there, there’s 8. Your brother, who you don’t associate with, is living in another state, is in a gang you have nothing to do with, and he posted a picture to his social media, and the called you to bail him out and you refused? Tada, eight points, you’re a gang member.
And that’s assuming that their idea of what gang symbols or gang tattoos are make sense. Which they don’t. They have managed to college at least three people for gang tattoos who are gay tattoo artists or makeup artists. Tren de Aragua, for the record, is not weirdly progressive gang that is fine with gay gang members.
At least one of them had entered the US to _attended a prearranged asylum hearing_. He petitioned for asylum, at the border, like he was supposed to, did the proper paperwork, the US let him in, he’s working through the system, like he’s supposed to, and Trump grabbed him off the street and shipped him overseas.
Meanwhile, and it’s worth point this out: The guy that Trump Administration is ‘oops we accidentally sold this guy to El Salvador despite having a judge’s order’ was randomly pointed at back in 2019 by other people being investigated by immigration as a member, INS arrested him, an immigration judge (Remember those?) not only said he was not a member but determined that he _could not_ be deported because he was at risk of being murdered by gangs, and he needed to stay in the US until a proper refugee status could be worked out.
He almost certainly was deported because he had ‘credibly statements identifying him as a member’ (As in, a judge, said they were nonsense) and he was ‘indicted for being a member’ (An indictment for a crime later he was _found innocent of_ by a judge.)
We HAVE an immigration court in this country. They are completely ignoring it because they have decided to pretend a law says something different.
Well, no. They’re completely ignoring it because they are, and this cannot be emphasized enough, actual fascists who are deliberately attempting to torture people because it makes them look strong to their fascism followers. They are starting with randomly accusations of some members of this outgroup (brown immigrants) being gang members, as sort of a test, and they’re offshoring their torture to another country. Baby steps. They will move on.
That is, literally, what is happen in this country right now, and people need to understand that.
It’s also worth explaining that about 75% of this system was _already in place_, and INS has always been extremely fascistic. This is something we built, over the last two decades, to operate mostly like this, and it has absolutely no problem shedding the tiniest vestige of due process and leap whole-heartedly in this.Report
It’s more vague that just “8”.
“…if a person scores 8 points or higher based on symbolism but has no points from other categories like criminal behavior, authorities must consult a supervisor and the Office of Principal Legal Advisor before proceeding…”
All of the “auto convict” boxes are “10” and Leavitt says in that interview that they’re not used this way.
DavidTC: We HAVE an immigration court in this country. They are completely ignoring it because they have decided to pretend a law says something different.
We have a lot of chaos in the system and people who don’t know what they’re doing. I am reluctant to take a case or three selected for being extreme outliers and say they’re the norm.Report
8 points of a possible 87 will get you labelled as a TDA member. We already have several examples of people being deported because of tattoos that have nothing whatsoever to do with that gang. Plus, comment 1 states that even a low score doesn’t disqualify for consideration as an enemy alien.
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts
Not only that, the law cited requires “a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government”. Further, it allows only for deportation of males.
Aside from relying on a 2 century old law, the current administration isn’t even following it. They’ll most likely continue on this lawless path because the people they’re intent on deporting are unsympathetic. The Trump administration is not intent on following the law, it’s just looking for grist for the social media mill.Report
The funniest thing Venezuela could do at this point would be to treat it like a declared war and sue for peace in the UN and promise to unilaterally cease all aggression and return all territory. Plead for ‘status quo ante bellum’, aka, ‘returning the situation that existed before a war’. Aka, ‘Sorry, and let us pretend our invasion never happen’
Which normally is how you lose a of aggression war and try to keep the same government, but in this case, as Venezuela has neither committed no aggression and seized no territory, would mean nothing at all.Report
I know this is irrelevant and probably inappropriate but I find Kristi Noem’s Instagram face deeply unnerving.Report
Probably because of your canine sympathies.Report
Heh it’s true, I am a dog person.Report
Imagine if we lived in a country where posting a picture which looks like it came straight out of a concentration camp, full of people who have not been charged with a crime that we shipped to another country, makes you look good.Report
BTW, if these actually are being detained because we’re at war with their ‘country’, which is apparently Venezuela (?), that both Venezuela and the US are signatories to the Geneva Convention, and this is literally the exact sort of humiliation propaganda photograph you are not allowed to do with prisoners of war.
A quick search to see see if anyone else noticed this…yup:
https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/kristi-noems-el-salvador-prison-photo-op-might-have-violated-the-geneva-convention/
Anyone remember how Iran, who had captured US sailors who had wandered into their waters, showed pictures that they were being humanely treated? And the right tried to pretend that was a violation of Geneva, and everyone pointed out ‘Showing capture soldiers being feed and treated well’ might be propaganda, but it’s the exactly what Geneva wants, ‘prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated and protected against acts of violence, intimidation, insults, and public curiosity’. You’re _allowed_ to produce propaganda bragging how well you treat your prisoners. (As long as you don’t force them to participate. You can ask for volunteers to do that, but you cannot punish them if they do not, or for what they say in that propaganda. Although, obviously, you probably won’t distribute it if they don’t say good things.)
Well, conservatives, in case you’re wondering, this. This is what you are not allowed to do. On top of the obvious intended humiliation, this is fairly clearly a photo op that all these prisoners were forced to take part in, and even forced to partially disrobe for. And it’s intended to show people how _badly_ they are being treated.
And that’s just the photo part. Obviously, mistreatment itself is a worse crime. Also, their government (Venezuela?) need to be notified, and captured POWs must be allowed, within the week, to write home.Report
Bush II’s team knew that they had to hide the Abu Gharib photos. This administration is proud of what they are doing.Report
One of the big problems that is going to have to be overcome is the whole “that’s not true! That’s a conspiracy theory!” thing.
Remember when TDA being in charge of an apartment complex in Aurora was a conspiracy theory? Well, as it turns out, it ended up being true. The authorities (including the 4th Estate, for some reason) was very interested in making sure that we all knew that the rumors of TDA being in Denver were exaggerations.
Oh, so now as part of the cleanup, we find out that TDA was here and all that? And in getting rid of TDA, we’re getting rid of people who aren’t part of TDA?
You’re going to have to get the really good people in charge of asking for empathy. Having them be the same people as the folks who sneered at the conspiracy theorists is going to have results that you’re not going to like.Report
It’s also right after we were breathlessly and repeatedly told Biden was showing no signs of age.
The other massive issue is: How big a problem is this? It could be first-sign-of-fascism-torture… or it could be extreme outliers selected for being extreme outliers.
Trump’s people could illegally arrest/imprison/deport 100 US citizens this year and it would be a serious improvement because the system averages 200.
We have about 11 million illegal immigrants living in the USA at the moment. In a normal year ICE will deport about a quarter of a million. If Trump tries to deport our way out of this mess then we will see a massive uptick in deportations that will be easily noticeable, negatively affect the economy, and won’t be hidable.
If you want to worry about illegal immigrants then worry about hundreds of thousands, not dozens.Report