Migrant Trump deported to El Salvador claims 'gang tattoo' is Real Madrid logo...and he's a pro soccer player READ MORE: Sign up for DailyMail.com's daily political email PODCAST: All the latest headlines, including Trump’s bold move to void Biden’s pardons and Gavin Newsom’s unexpected statue plans By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 15:00 GMT, 20 March 2025 | Updated: 15:18 GMT, 20 March 2025 A Venezuelan man who got deported to El Salvador under accusation of being in a violent gang is actually a pro soccer player whose tattoo celebrates one of the game's most storied clubs, his lawyer told the court. The Department of Homeland Security says the man's crown tattoo establishes that he is in the dreaded Tren de Aragua gang, and placed him in maximum security before jetting him out of the country amid a constitutional clash. His lawyer says the body art is because he roots for Real Madrid while playing pro ball in Venezuala and coaching youth soccer. The truth may never be established, because he was already flown out of the country with more than 200 other prisoners a month before his April 17 immigration hearing. The assertion comes in a declaration for the court amid a tense standoff over the weekend deportations that has legal experts saying it is causing a constitutional crisis, as Trump calls to impeach the federal judge who issued on order to pause the deportations. The White House has slapped down questions about the people who got deported, saying those asking about it are in favor of violent gang attacks on Americans. On Wednesday, attorney Linette Tobin filed a declaration in court for her client Jerce Reyes Barrios, 26. She writes that the asylum seeker got deported to El Salvador 'with no notice to counsel or family.' The lawyer was only able to confirm his status on Tuesday. A lawyer for one of the men deported to El Salvador Saturday says her client is a soccer player and not a member of a violent gang The lawyer said he marched in protests in his home country and got tortured with electric shocks before fleeing to the U.S. She also claims he has been wrongly accused of being a member of the violent gang. Karoline Leavitt rips 'partisan' judge over Trump migrant flights...and goes after his wife 'Mr. Reyes Barrios was/is a professional soccer player in Venezuela. He has never been arrested or charged with a crime. He has a steady employment record as a soccer player, as well as a socce coach for children and youth.' She says the gang accusations is based on two things. One is an arm tattoo 'of a crown sitting atop a soccer ball with a rosary and the word "Dios." The lawyer says DHS alleges the tat is proof of being in the gang. 'In reality, he chose this tattoo because it is similar to the logo for his favorite soccer team Real Madrid. She also pushes back on an image DHS scraped from his social media account 'making a hand gesture that they allege is proof of gang membership.' The lawyer says the tattoo is related to the Real Madrid club A lawyer says her client is a pro soccer player whose tattoo of a soccer ball with a crown is a tribute to Real Madrid, not Tren de Aragua 'I Love You': The declaration says a hand sign isn't proof of gang membership, and means 'I love you' in sign language Jerce Reyes Barrios says he is a pro soccer player who was seeking asylum A posting by his father says he has a family and the tattoos aren't gang related The tattoo features a soccer ball with a crown 'In fact, the gesture is a common one that means I Love You in sign language and is commonly used as a Rock&Roll symbol,' writes the lawyer. The lawyer writes that she was able to get her client out of a maximum security prison, but he was transferred to a new facility before getting deported on March 15 while awaiting an April court hearing. White House deputy chief of staff Steven Miller got asked Wednesday about the deportation of a man with no criminal record. 'Is it your position that a member of Tren de Aragua who is in our United States illegally should be allowed to commit crimes limitlessly, until such time as that individual is incarcerated,' he shot back. 'That it should be open season on Americans that TDA ha come in. It's like ISIS coming into your country or Al Qaeda coming into your country, and that you let them stay here, catch and release, catch and release, catch and release?' 'Our job is to send the terrorists out before anyone gets raped or murdered,' he said. Barrios is just one character in a brewing legal saga. Federal Judge James Boasberg has been pressing the administration to provide detailed information on when the deportation was ordered amid his oral and later written order Saturday to turn planes carrying the deportees around. Trump online called him a 'Radical Left Lunatic' and called for the judge to be impeached. Chief Justice John Roberts issued an extraordinary slapdown, saying in a statement that 'For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.' 'The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,' he wrote. The White House has complained how an 'unelected' judge could drive what it considers key foreign policy aspects of the president's authority. The Justice Department in court filings called the judge's comments a 'complete misunderstanding of the serious national security, safety, regulatory, and logistical problems presented by a fiat from the Court directed at pilots operating outside the United States and was made without regard to whether any such aircraft could feasibly be diverted or even had enough fuel to safely do so.' The men who got deported were quickly transported to a Salvadoran prison, and the country's president posted video online of their heads being shaved. The White House says it won't release the names of the people who got deported, making it hard for the public or the courts to verify the evidence of gang affiliation. DailyMail.com has contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department for comment on the case. Barrios' father posted on Facebook that he was detained upon entering the U.S. 'under investigation for "suspicious tattoos" that they say are related to the Tren de Aragua.' 'Note that Jerce is a football player and his tattoos are mostly for the love of football and his family. For example one tattoo shows a crown on a soccer ball and this crown is the one they associate with the criminal group Tren de Aragua. He finds out about this when he's already being held in the USA.' PoliticsDonald Trump Share or comment on this article: Migrant Trump deported to El Salvador claims 'gang tattoo' is Real Madrid logo...and he's a pro soccer player Add comment