It is particularly ineffective in identifying members of TdA, which, unlike other gangs, does not require its members to get tattoos. Tattoos that represent Latinx cultural and racial identity—ranging ...

Tattoos of Mayan or Aztec images have also been used to designate people as gang members, even though these tattoos are clear expressions of cultural identity and do not necessarily have any nexus to ...

Kilmar Abrego García’s tattoos alone do not prove MS-13 membership, experts say Several were skeptical of the claim that knuckle tattoos highlighted by President Trump suggest gang affiliation.

Clay Bennett's Times cartoon for May 4, 2025.

President Trump has repeatedly cited tattoos on the mistakenly deported man’s knuckles as proof that he is an MS-13 gang member.

U.S. President Donald Trump held up a photo supposedly showing that Kilmar Abrego Garcia's hand tattoos meant he was a member of the MS-13 gang.

Lawyers say tattoos were used by ICE to label clients like Andry Romero part of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and justify their deportation to El Salvador.

The administration appears to be using little more than body art to deport people that it says are members of Tren de Aragua, a move that critics say ignores decades of protocol.

Certain tattoos associated with street gangs can get you stopped by police in El Salvador. But artists there say now more people want their ink.