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I hope you can understand my concern that the US may be sending non gang members to a hellhole prison.
Having a non biased judge determine whether or not the evidence was enough to determine they were gang members would've made me a lot less skeptical
A disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist sent to El Salvador's notorious prison, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
A report approved by the police-officer-turned-prison-contractor claimed the Venezuelan man was a member of the notorious gang Tren de Aragua.
But the credibility of Charles Cross Jr., who signed the report, was so bad, prosecutors flagged him on a list of police who had been accused of lying, breaking the law or acting in a way that erodes their credibility to testify in Milwaukee County.
Cross was fired from his position as a Milwaukee police sergeant in 2012 after driving his car into a family’s home while intoxicated. He appealed the decision and resigned in the process, according to the department
At the time, Cross also was being investigated for claiming overtime he allegedly hadn’t earned. USA TODAY has requested his disciplinary and employment records.
Earlier misdeeds had landed him on the Milwaukee County Brady List, a compilation of law enforcement officers deemed by county prosecutors to have credibility problems.
But they weren’t enough to keep him from making life-altering decisions about gang affiliations and migrants at an immigration detention center in California.
Cross, an employee of CoreCivic, which runs many of the immigration detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, typed his name over the title “INVESTIGATOR” on the form that implicated Andry José Hernandez, a gay makeup artist from Venezuela who has denied any connection to Tren de Aragua, according to a court filing.
Today, Cross, 62, is one of the private prison contractors helping to identify Venezuelan migrants as members of the criminal outfit Tren de Aragua – a designation that’s landing them in a Salvadoran prison without due process.
Entrusting private contractors – and not federal agents – to determine whether migrants are members of a criminal gang adds a new level of apprehension, migrant advocates and a former ICE official said.
Putting that responsibility in the hands of government contractors raises “serious concerns,” said John Sandweg, former ICE acting director under the Obama administration, given that the government is using the suspected gang link as the sole reason for deportation.
It’s unclear whether Hernandez was also evaluated by federal agents, whether Cross and another CoreCivic employee, Arturo Torres, were Hernandez's sole screeners, or whether other corroborating evidence was used to accuse him of ties to the criminal group.
Asked about the Hernandez case, the Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t offer further details on the case or the process in general but reiterated that the department uses more than just tattoos to determine gang allegiance. It also wouldn’t comment on the role private contractors play in the process.
“DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media. We are confident in our intelligence," the department said in a statement attributed to a "Senior DHS Official," without naming the official. “We aren’t going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane
Having a non biased judge determine whether or not the evidence was enough to determine they were gang members would've made me a lot less skeptical
Gay Venezuelan stylist sent to Salvadoran prison after a disgraced cop's report
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
A disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist sent to El Salvador's notorious prison, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
A report approved by the police-officer-turned-prison-contractor claimed the Venezuelan man was a member of the notorious gang Tren de Aragua.
But the credibility of Charles Cross Jr., who signed the report, was so bad, prosecutors flagged him on a list of police who had been accused of lying, breaking the law or acting in a way that erodes their credibility to testify in Milwaukee County.
Cross was fired from his position as a Milwaukee police sergeant in 2012 after driving his car into a family’s home while intoxicated. He appealed the decision and resigned in the process, according to the department
At the time, Cross also was being investigated for claiming overtime he allegedly hadn’t earned. USA TODAY has requested his disciplinary and employment records.
Earlier misdeeds had landed him on the Milwaukee County Brady List, a compilation of law enforcement officers deemed by county prosecutors to have credibility problems.
But they weren’t enough to keep him from making life-altering decisions about gang affiliations and migrants at an immigration detention center in California.
Cross, an employee of CoreCivic, which runs many of the immigration detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, typed his name over the title “INVESTIGATOR” on the form that implicated Andry José Hernandez, a gay makeup artist from Venezuela who has denied any connection to Tren de Aragua, according to a court filing.
Today, Cross, 62, is one of the private prison contractors helping to identify Venezuelan migrants as members of the criminal outfit Tren de Aragua – a designation that’s landing them in a Salvadoran prison without due process.
Entrusting private contractors – and not federal agents – to determine whether migrants are members of a criminal gang adds a new level of apprehension, migrant advocates and a former ICE official said.
Putting that responsibility in the hands of government contractors raises “serious concerns,” said John Sandweg, former ICE acting director under the Obama administration, given that the government is using the suspected gang link as the sole reason for deportation.
It’s unclear whether Hernandez was also evaluated by federal agents, whether Cross and another CoreCivic employee, Arturo Torres, were Hernandez's sole screeners, or whether other corroborating evidence was used to accuse him of ties to the criminal group.
Asked about the Hernandez case, the Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t offer further details on the case or the process in general but reiterated that the department uses more than just tattoos to determine gang allegiance. It also wouldn’t comment on the role private contractors play in the process.
“DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media. We are confident in our intelligence," the department said in a statement attributed to a "Senior DHS Official," without naming the official. “We aren’t going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane
