Trump’s Tattooed Hand: MS-13 Claim Debunked?

President Donald Trump uploaded an image of himself holding a picture of what he said was the tattooed hand of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whom the federal government deported to El Salvador in March regardless of an order not to deport him there.

Tattoos as Evidence? Trump’s Claim

The figures M, S, 1 and 3 and words listed below the signs don’t show up in various other pictures of Abrego Garcia’s hand, consisting of the one taken by Salvadoran federal government authorities (and shared on X by El Salvador’s head of state, Nayib Bukele) when Abrego Garcia consulted with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on April 17.

To Trump and the White Home X account, the tattoos are evidence that Abrego Garcia belongs to the MS-13 gang, which his household and attorneys have actually continually rejected. The Trump management deported Abrego Garcia on March 15 to CECOT, a Salvadoran mega-prison where Trump has sent hundreds of Venezuelan and salvadoran men who were previously in the United state. Abrego Garcia had a security order that was meant to avoid him from being deported to El Salvador. Two judges later stated that the government didn’t prove Abrego Garcia is a gang participant.

To Trump and the White Residence X account, the tattoos are evidence that Abrego Garcia comes from the MS-13 gang, which his family members and lawyers have regularly rejected. However the picture shows up to have actually been become consist of the lettering “MS-13” above other symbols, which the White Home has actually not explained. Experts in criminal gangs claimed nothing in the picture is a known signifier of MS-13.

Experts Doubt MS-13 Tattoo Link

“I don’t believe a ‘hazardous person’ would certainly have such anodyne and farcically generic tattoos on his hand,” stated Liliana Castañeda Rossmann, a The Golden State University San Marcos emerita professor of interaction and author of guide “Going beyond Gangs: Latinas Tale Their Experience.”.

“Within MS-13 society, such markings would likely be frowned upon and also deemed a sign of cowardice, as they might be taken an effort to minimize or hide gang affiliation,” Kennedy stated. “That type of concealment violates the gang’s standards, which frequently demand bold, visible presentations of identity and loyalty.”.

We asked the White Residence whether “MS-13” is tattooed on Abrego Garcia’s hand or whether the image had been modified, probably to reveal that each of the pictorial tattoos represented one of those letters or numbers. The White Residence did not respond to our query.

“In El Salvador, I worked with gang participants that had MS-13 tattooed on their face, upper body and reduced body,” Katz claimed. “Nonetheless, tattoos are being used much less frequently today because of their usage as evidence.”.

While Katz said that regional police would certainly be a lot more accustomed to certain tattoo styles in a given area, “I have actually worked with problems connected to MS-13 for the past 15 years in El Salvador and the united state and I have actually never seen tattoos or graffiti recommending that these particular tattoos are related to MS-13.”.

Government’s Stance on Deportation

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have looked for to reverse his deportation, however the government has argued that given that he left U.S. territory, it can not do something about it. The High court ruled, without dissent, that the federal government requires to “‘ help with’ Abrego Garcia’s launch from guardianship in El Salvador.” (Abrego Garcia has given that been transferred to a lower-security jail, according to report.).

Several gang criminal offense specialists advised caution about thinking that any one of the tattoos provide evidence of MS-13 connections. MS-13 specialists stated the tattoos’ iconography was strange, and that those signs have usual definitions in mainstream tattooing.

“This is the hand of the man that the Democrats really feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent individual,'” Trump’s article says. “They stated he is not a participant of MS-13, despite the fact that he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles.”

Abrego Garcia was taken into Migration and Traditions Enforcement safekeeping, where courts denied bond, both originally and on appeal, mentioning the police source’s accusation. He was launched from ICE custodianship, and he ultimately functioned as a sheet-metal pupil in Maryland, wed an U.S. resident and had a kid. Two courts later stated that the government didn’t prove Abrego Garcia is a gang member.

In March 2019, Abrego Garcia was trying to find day labor outside a Home Depot in Maryland in 2019 when Royal prince George’s County police took him and 3 others right into guardianship. Once at the police station, police officers asked Abrego Garcia if he was a gang participant, and he told him that he had not been, according to a March 2025 court filing by his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg.

Gang Tattoo Ambiguity

“Real and really usual gang signifiers will certainly be points like crowns and pitchforks and drops, every one of which have different definitions,” said David M. Kennedy, a John Jay University of Offender Justice teacher. “Without more info and context, one can not usually look at tattoos and state with self-confidence that this is what that indicates.”

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have sought to reverse his expulsion, yet the federal government has suggested that because he left United state jurisdiction, it can not take activity.

The Trump management deported Abrego Garcia on March 15 to CECOT, a Salvadoran mega-prison where Trump has sent hundreds of Venezuelan and salvadoran males that were formerly in the united state. Abrego Garcia had a security order that was intended to prevent him from being deported to El Salvador. United State Migration and Customs Enforcement lawyers acknowledged that they understood the limitation and in court filings called his elimination an “oversight” and “a management error.”

“While authorities gang professionals often make use of so-called gang tattoos as inconclusive evidence of supposed gang participation, in my experience, they never use tattoos alone as definitive evidence of gang association,” Kennedy stated. “This is especially true where, as here, the tattoos are ambiguous and may show points other than gang ties, such as religion, loss, personal improvement or social identity.”.

Sean Kennedy, a former government public protector in California and now a Loyola Legislation Institution professor, stated that in his experience connecting and standing for with former and existing MS-13 members, “The tattoos in the picture do not look acquainted to me.”.