Michael Jordan’s signature ‘jump man’ logo and the Chicago Bulls have been bizarrely dragged into Donald Trump’s battle to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Venezuelan men have been branded ‘alien enemy’ by the Trump administration with clothing and tattoos used to identify them as alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
20 categories have been listed as suggesting gang membership on a checklist used by immigration officials to decide whether Venezuelans belong to TdA.
While the categories include actions such as committing crimes with TdA members or talking on the phone with them, certain tattoos have also been listed as criteria for identification in an ‘Alien Enemy Validation Guide’.
And, stunningly Jordan’s ‘jump man’ symbol was pictured alongside other ink designs, including AK-47s, trains, clocks, stars and the ‘Real Hasta La Muerte’ quote.
Furthermore, the NBA legend’s former team, the Chicago Bulls, have become entangled with clothing relating to the franchise or Jordan’s clothing and sneaker line with Nike also appearing to be alleged markers of TdA members.
Michael Jordan has been bizarrely dragged into Donald Trump’s deportation battle
Tattoos of the NBA legend’s signature ‘jump man’ logo have been listed as an identifier of membership of the Tren de Aragua in an ‘Alien Enemy Validation Guide’
According to the document, immigration officials in Chicago indicated that favoring ‘the Chicago Bulls basketball jersey, specifically Michael Jordan jerseys with the number ’23’, and Jordan ‘Jump Man’ footwear/sneakers,’ as identifiers of the TdA gang.
However, according to Bloomberg, Customs and Border Protection’s El Paso Sector Intelligence and Operations Center released a separate intelligence document that noted that ‘Chicago Bulls attire, clocks, and rose tattoos are typically related to the Venezuelan culture and not a definite indicator of being a member or ᴀssociate of the TdA.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Nike and the Chicago Bulls for comment.
Jordan is one of Chicago’s biggest sporting stars, leading the Bulls to six NBA championships during his 15 seasons in the league.
Even over 20 years on from Jordan bringing the curtain down on his decorated on-court career, Bulls merchandise remains some of the NBA’s best-selling apparel.
The 62-year-old partnered with Nike in 1984 to launch the Jordan Brand, featuring his signature Air Jordan sneakers. The brand had $7 billion in revenue in the sportswear giant’s most recent fiscal year, according to Sportico.
Washington-based US District Judge James Boasberg on March 15 imposed a two-week ban on deportations of accused members of the Tren de Aragua gang under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, while he considered a lawsuit brought by some Venezuelan migrants challenging the legality of the law’s use to speed up their removal.
Boasberg will hold a hearing on Thursday over whether the Trump administration violated his order temporarily blocking the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the rarely-invoked 18th century law.
The 62-year-old basketball icon established the Jordan Brand with Nike back in 1984
Jordan is pictured sporting a cap featuring the logo at a Champions League game in 2024
He is probing whether Trump’s administration violated that order by failing to return two deportation flights that were in the air at the time he issued the order. The Venezuelan migrants aboard the planes were handed over to officials in El Salvador, where they are being held.
The episode has prompted concerns among Democrats and some legal observers that the Trump administration may not comply with unfavorable court rulings.
Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment after he blocked the deportations. That prompted a rare rebuke from US Chief Justice John Roberts, who said appeals, not impeachments, were the proper response to disagreements with court orders. The Trump administration says it did not violate Boasberg’s order.
In a March 25 court filing, Justice Department lawyers wrote that the migrants had already been deported by the time the judge ruled because the planes had left U.S. airspace.
They also said Boasberg could not order the executive branch to bring the alleged members of Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration labels a terrorist organization, back from overseas.
‘Courts lack authority to micromanage how the President decides to deal with terrorists abroad,’ the Justice Department lawyers wrote.
The government has also invoked the state secrets privilege, a doctrine preventing sensitive government information from being disclosed in civil litigation, to avoid giving Boasberg more details about the timing of the flights.
Lawyers for the Venezuelan migrants said in a March 31 filing that Boasberg’s order was clearly intended to prevent them from being handed over to a foreign government, meaning the Trump administration violated it.
US District Judge James Boasberg on March 15 imposed a two-week ban on deportations of accused members of the Tren de Aragua gang
The migrants’ lawyers say they were not given a chance to contest the government’s ᴀssertion that they were Tren de Aragua members before being deported under the Alien Enemies Act.
The law, best-known for its use to intern and remove Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants during World War Two, allows foreign nationals to be deported without final removal orders from immigration judges.
Immigration lawyers, family members and advocates said authorities are targeting young Venezuelan men who are not gang members on the mistaken belief that their tattoos honoring family members, their professions, and even soccer teams signify Tren de Aragua membership.
Boasberg on Friday extended his temporary restraining order for another two weeks, as lawyers for the migrants seek a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Boasberg’s initial order, after an appeals court upheld it.
