Posted earlier by
@branmuffin, I think Andry Jose Hernandez, a gay makeup artist, is worth discussing.
Keep scrolling. There is a lot of blank space in the article.
Now a contractor for ICE, the officer was on a list of disgraced cops in Milwaukee. His report helped send a man to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
www.usatoday.com
KEY POINTS:
- A former Milwaukee police officer with credibility issues played a key role in the deportation of a Venezuelan migrant to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center.
- Charles Cross, Jr., a CoreCivic employee, signed a report alleging the migrant's affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang based on his tattoos.
Hernandez passed an initial “credible fear” interview with a federal agent but, after Border Patrol authorities questioned him about his tattoos, he was transferred to ICE custody and sent to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
There, Torres questioned Hernandez and filled out questionnaires suggesting the asylum-seeker’s tattoos, including a crown on either wrist next to the words “Dad” and “Mom,” linked him to Tren de Aragua. Hernandez repeatedly denied being part of the group.
On one form, dated Dec. 10, 2024, a points-based rubric sheet titled “STG MEMBER VALIDATION / CONFIRMATION,” Hernandez was given a “5” for his tattoos. None of the other categories, including “intelligence information received from other agencies” or “group photos” with other gang members, were checked. Still, he was named a “SUSPECT.”
“Upon conducting a review of detainee Hernandez’s tattoos it was found that detainee Hernandez has a crown on each one of his wrist,” the form states. “The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragua gang member.”
The document is signed “Completed by” Torres and “Confirmed by” Cross.
Internal DHS and FBI documents obtained by USA TODAY have revealed that federal authorities for years have questioned the effectiveness of using tattoos to identify members of Tren de Aragua, also known as TdA.