The United States’ crackdown on immigrants continues at full force. A sibling of one of the migrants sent to the infamous prison in El Salvador claimed that their only crime was being Venezuelan and getting a tattoo. The young man learned that his brother was among those sent to El Salvador from a photo of a group of prisoners with their hands and feet cuffed. He recognized his brother in one of the widely circulated photos in the world press, thanks to the hummingbird tattoo on his neck.

The migrant named Arturo Suarez was a professional singer until five weeks ago. While waiting for his asylum application to be processed, he was performing in the United States. Originally from Venezuela, this person had entered the US legally. However, he is currently detained in the prison in El Salvador, referred to as the “hell on earth” and sent there by the Trump administration.

The White House claims he is a gang member, but there is no evidence to support this allegation. His brother, Nelson Suarez, stated to Sky News that he believes their brother’s only “crime” is being Venezuelan and getting a tattoo. Nelson insisted that his brother is not a gang member, saying, “It’s because of the tattoos. If you have no criminal record and haven’t committed any crimes in the US, what other reason could there be? Because you are Venezuelan?” Arturo, 34, was arrested by immigration officials in March while shooting a music video.

He was first taken to a deportation center in El Paso, Texas, and then transported to El Salvador on a military plane. Since then, his family has not been able to hear from the young man. Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have not been able to communicate with any of the more than 200 Venezuelan men sent to the CECOT prison. Nelson learned that his brother was most likely in CECOT and saw a photo on a news site.

The young man noticed the detail in a photo of a group of detainees with their hands and feet cuffed, their heads shaved, and their bodies chained together. Pointing to the hummingbird tattoo on the neck of the man in the photo, Nelson said, “You can see a hummingbird tattoo on his neck.” He mentioned that his brother had gotten the hummingbird tattoo in memory of their deceased mothers.

Arturo has a total of 33 tattoos, including a piano, poems, and verses from the Bible among them. These tattoos may have placed him at the center of Trump’s anti-immigrant movement. Immigration officials have focused on specific tattoos being gang symbols. Immigration officials were provided with a document titled “Alien Enemy Validation Guide.”

The document provides a points-based system to determine whether a detained immigrant will be approved as a gang member. Immigrants who score six points or higher are identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Tattoos falling under the “Symbolism” category receive four points, while social media posts showing gang symbols receive two points.

Among the tattoos identified as suspicious in the document are especially crowns and stars. In March, US President Donald Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has only been applied three times during wartime.

This law allows the president to detain and deport legal immigrants living in the US if they come from countries considered “enemies” by the government. Trump claimed that the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang had “infiltrated” the US and was “waging war.”