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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick Profile picture
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
@ReichlinMelnick
Senior Fellow @immcouncil. Tweeting on immigration policy and data. Formerly immigration lawyer with @IJCorps. Views my own, retweets =/= endorsements.
13 subscribers
Apr 15 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
MAJOR SCOOP: The local detective who first accused Mr. Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-31 was suspended from the police force and indicted merely WEEKS LATER for providing confidential information to a sex worker who he was paying in exchange for sexual acts. Image This explains a big mystery in Mr. Abrego Garcia's case. When his lawyers in 2019 went to interview the detective who claimed a "confidential informant" accused him of being in MS-13, they found out he was suspended.

Now we know why. And it's pretty bad. What’s more, it turns out that Mendez was suspended, in early April of 2019, for “providing information to a commercial sex worker who he was paying in exchange for sexual acts.” That’s according to the PG County police’s own announcement of his indictment, which came a year later, in June of 2020. Strikingly, the information Mendez shared was related to “an on-going police investigation.” “This is clearly not an officer that respects the rules and protocols,” Curiel told us. “If he’s willing to do that, what else is he willing to do?” Mendez ultimately pleaded guilty to the charge and re...
Apr 12 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Hours ago, @politico revealed that DOGE is working with DHS on automating mass deportation efforts — which likely explains why US citizens, green card holders, and Canadians (in Canada) got threatening emails terminating “your parole” and telling them to leave the US in 7 days. Image
Image
Image
Image There’s a big thread of baffled people on Reddit trying to figure out what the emails mean or if they’re real. They include:

- Citizens
- Canadians (living in Canada)
- Green card holders
- DACA recipients

Whatever dataset DOGE used was the wrong one.

reddit.com/r/USCIS/commen…
Apr 11 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Okay, brief thread on what happened today in Mr. Khalil's case, and what comes next.

First, you should know that precedent from 1999 requires an immigration judge to accept Rubio's letter so long as it was "facially reasonable and bona fide." This is a very deferential standard. Today the judge ruled that Secretary Rubio's letter was indeed "facially reasonable and bona fide" making Mr. Khalil "removable." despite having a green card.

Despite the deferential standard, I think that was arguably wrong -- Rubio offered no specifics.
Apr 11 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: The Board of Immigration Appeals has been reduced from 28 members to 15 members, an action which "coincidentally" purges every single Board member appointed during the Biden administration.

This comes as the BIA faces record backlogs — which will now get MUCH worse. Image The full Federal Register notice is here: .

It is an "interim final rule," which means it goes into effect immediately. There is a comment period, though. The RIF of Board members began over a month ago, with many having already been laid off.public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-06294.pdf
Apr 1 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
Vance is badly wrong here. In 2019, a police informant alleged the guy was in MS-13. He spent a year in ICE detention as a result, then won his case. He’s been out for the last five years, married to a U.S. citizen, has two kids, and STILL has no criminal record at all. In 2019, Mr. Abrego was arrested outside a Home Depot, his only criminal arrest.

A cop declared that he was a gang member because he was wearing a Bulls jersey and a "confidential informant" said he was in an MS-13 clique in a state he'd never lived in.
Image
Apr 1 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Oh my god. They deported a man who an immigration judge had declared was "more likely than not" to face persecution in El Salvador... to El Salvador!

They outright admit it! Yet the Trump admin's response to a court is basically "oops, well, no take backsies." Image This guy is part of the group of alleged MS-13 members sent to El Salvador on March 15.

In 2019, a PG County Police informant alleged he was connect to MS-13. He has only traffic tickets and has apparently been living a quiet life with family since winning protection in 2019. The respondent argues that the Immigration Judge clearly erred in determining that he is a verified member of MS-13 because there is no reliable evidence in the record to support such a finding (Respondent's Br. at 6-9). In this regard, the respondent asserts that a Prince George's County Police Department Gang Field Interview Sheet ("GFIS") is based on hearsay relayed by a confidential source (Exh. 4). The respondent also claims that he presented sufficient evidence to rebut the allegation that he is affiliated with MS-13, including character references and criminal records showi...
Mar 30 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
NEW: An ACLU filing sheds light on how "Andry," the gay make-up artist sent to rot in a prison in El Salvador, ended up labeled "Tren de Aragua" by ICE.

Documents filed by ICE shows that the ONLY evidence ICE listed for membership in TdA was a tattoo of a crown with "mom" below. Image
Image Here are the tattoos that ICE declared were evidence that Andry, a gay make-up artist who came to a port of entry seeking asylum from Venezuela, was a member of the vicious gang "Tren de Aragua."

I am not making this up. This is it. "Mom" and "Dad" with crowns over them. Image
Mar 30 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
NEW: Another documents filed by the ACLU is an unclassified ICE document showing what it alleges are Tren de Aragua tattoos. The @nypost also published these in 2024.

But reverse image search shows these images were stolen from the internet and have nothing to do with TdA! 🧵 Image The "Jump-Man" imagine, which the New York Post claimed "refers to 23 de Enero ... a Venezuelan neighborhood" (it's Michael Jordan's number, guys), was first posted on Twitter in 2015 by a random Michael Jordan fan account. Image
Image
Mar 30 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
NEW: @ACLU obtained ICE's "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide," confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a "gang tattoo" and 2) displaying "logos," "symbols," or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs. Image
Image
Image In order for ICE to declare someone an "Alien Enemy," ICE must first determine they are a Venezuelan over age 14, and then second find 8 points on a scoring guide they made up.

It's 4 points for having alleged gang tattoos and 4 points for displaying gang "logos" or "symbols." Image
Mar 28 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: Judge Brinkema UNLOADED on ICE's "evidence" of TdA membership:

"This is a terrible, terrible affidavit. If this were before me in a criminal case and you were asking to get a warrant issued on this, I'd throw you out of my chambers."

This is why due process matters! This is a terrible, terrible affidavit. If this were before me in a criminal case and you were asking to get a warrant issue on this, I'd throw you out of my chambers. No agent should do this type of editorializing, not when people's liberty is at stake. I expect more from the government than this kind of very shoddy work. This is assumptions and putting words in people's mouths. You don't have it here. I was shocked when I saw this. It came in late on Thursday afternoon and I was getting tired at the end of the day and it woke me up. But anyway, you don't have it. It's not here. Here's an example of the "rigorous vetting" of gang membership that the Trump admin claims it's doing:

A woman admitted that her dead ex-husband, who she left 10 years ago, had been a TdA member.

From that — and nothing more! — ICE declared she "is a senior member of the TDA." THE COURT: All right. And it is the sorriest statement I've ever seen. First of all, it's pure hearsay in the sense that it's not any evidence that he himself, as I understand it, directly has. In other words, he did not interrogate either of these two people and hear this directly. His statement is that it was reported to him that this was done. And if you look at the seminal paragraphs in his statement, paragraph 14, this is what he says:
(As read): "Upon arrest, the petitioners were read their Miranda Rights. agreed to speak with the border patrol agents. She stated that she is associated with the TDA terrorist organization. She stated that she was previously married to Mr. , a member of TDA. She stated that she is from the municipality of Aragua, Venezuela, where TDA is based, and she knows members of TDA. She stated that she separated from her ex-husband approximately 10 years ago. She stated that her ex-husband was killed by the Venezuelan government due to his affiliation with TDA. She stated she met after separati...
illegally." Two paragraphs later, paragraph 16, the same apparently investigating agents, draw the conclusion: (As read): is a senior member of the TDA." How do you get from somebody who was married possibly 10 years ago to a TDA gang member, marriage, all of a sudden she's a senior member? This is a terrible, terrible affidavit. If this were before me in a criminal case and you were asking to get a warrant issue on this, I'd throw you out of my chambers.
Mar 27 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW! The Trump administration appears to have sent a married father with NO CRIMINAL RECORD to rot in a prison in El Salvador because of a PAPERWORK ERROR.

This man doesn’t even have tattoos! But his paperwork has two different peoples’ ID numbers listed and the wrong last name! Image More from the article: his family even got evidence from Venezuela proving he has no criminal record in that country either.

This adds yet another case to the growing list of examples of people seemingly sent to rot in prison in El Salvador due to the Trump admin's sloppiness. Image
Mar 26 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: @MotherJones reports that one of the men renditioned to El Salvador is Neri Alvarado, who was working in Dallas as a baker. An ICE agent told him they were questioning all men with tattoos.

Neri has an AUTISM AWARENESS TATTOO in honor of his 15-year-old brother with autism. Image
Image An ICE agent told Neri Alvarado "We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos, and that's why he was arrested.

Stunningly, after Neri explained his autism tattoos' meanings, THE ICE AGENT SAID HE WAS CLEAN. And yet he stayed detained — then got sent to El Salvador! Still, Alvarado was detained by ICE outside his apartment in early February and brought in for questioning, Juan Enrique Hernández, the owner of two Venezuelan bakeries in the Dallas area and Alvarado’s boss, told Mother Jones. One day later, Hernández went to see him in detention and asked him to explain what had happened. Alvarado told Hernández that an ICE agent had asked him if he knew why he had been picked up; Alvarado said that he did not. “Well, you’re here because of your tattoos,” the ICE agent replied, according to Hernández. “We’re finding and questioning everyone who has tattoo...
Mar 25 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: @MiamiHerald reveals that one of the people imprisoned in El Salvador HAD LEGAL REFUGEE STATUS. He entered the country legally in January and was detained because of his tattoos, EVEN THOUGH he had passed a full background check.

Without warning, he was sent to El Salvador. On Jan. 8, after they were finally granted the coveted refugee status, E.M., 29, and his girlfriend, Daniela Palma, 30, finally arrived in the United States, flying into Houston. Upon arrival, an immigration officer asked the young man the question that changed his life in moments. “Do you have any tattoos?” He had already been asked that by U.S. authorities in Colombia as part of an extensive background check, and he now gave the same answer Here is the story. The man, now imprisoned in El Salvador, was detained in January at the Houston airport because the CBP officer thought his tattoos made him part of Tren de Aragua — even though he had disclosed them to DHS and passed a background check.
miamiherald.com/news/local/imm…
Mar 24 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: The ACLU has filed a sworn declaration from a Venezuelan woman who ICE sought to turn over to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, who says she heard ICE officials on the plane talking about the court order which had been issued telling them to turn the plane around. Image
Image Link to the declaration here. Like many of the other people:

- She had a pending asylum hearing
- ICE agents lied and told her she was being sent to Venezuela
- She was never given any opportunity to present evidence that she was falsely accused. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Mar 20 • 10 tweets • 5 min read
NEW! Sworn declarations filed last night confirm the Trump admin sent INNOCENT people to rot in prison El Salvador, including a professional soccer player tortured by the Maduro regime who entered this country LEGALLY to seek asylum and has NO CRIMINAL RECORD in either country. Image
Image A link to the declaration is here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Mar 18 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
The men sent to do hard labor in a Salvadoran prison with no due process include:

- A tattoo artist seeking asylum who entered legally.
- A teen who got a tattoo in Dallas because he thought it looked cool.
- A 26-year-old whose tattoos his wife says are unrelated to a gang. Image
Image
Image Another man sent to Bukele’s prison with no due process is a barber whose family insists has no gang ties.

Remember; these people were given no warning they were going to be sent to El Salvador and no right to contest the government’s claim they were members of Tren de Aragua.
Mar 17 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
Once again, to emphasize here, these people have received NO DUE PROCESS. No judge has ever ruled that they are a member of a gang and the Trump admin denied them any opportunity to challenge the determination. It's highly likely multiple people sent there are totally innocent. To emphasize for those unaware: due process under the Constitution applies to all "persons" in the United States. Not only citizens.

ALL people in the United States have a right to due process.

Image
Mar 11 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
INA 237(a)(4)(C) authorizes the Secretary of State to personally declare any noncitizen "deportable" solely by asserting that the person's presence in the US. "would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences."

No claim of lawbreaking is required in any way! To be clear, that's exactly what the law says. I'm directly citing it. It's a Cold War-era law which was originally intended to target accused communists.

The free speech problems are very significant, and the law may well be unconstitutional.
Feb 3 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Mexico commits to another large deployment of its National Guard to the northern border, claiming they will focus on preventing fentanyl trafficking, and Trump calls off the tariffs for now.

Of course, since most fentanyl is smuggled by US citizens, this won't stop much at all. The deployment of Mexican National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019 under Trump had zero impact on fentanyl smuggling before, because it's not migrants who are smuggling fentanyl in the overwhelming majority of cases. Fentanyl traffic continued to rise each year.
Jan 26 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Colombia has accepted hundreds of deportation flights in the past years. It rejected two flights using military planes, but agreed to continue taking flights using normal ICE planes.

In response, the Trump administration has done the equivalent of punching them in the face. All repatriations are governed by bilateral agreements. Every country has an absolute right to set the terms by which they take deportations from another country.

And if you don’t know why military planes might be an issue, pick up a book on 20th century Latin American history.
Jan 24 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
When speaking to experts in Latin America, I've been told that the use of military planes by the United States could be seen as an insult. And now it seems they were right; Mexico's president just refused to take a deportation flight from the US for the first time in years. Mexico refuses to accept a U.S. deportation flight The Mexican government has criticized President Donald Trump's unilateral immigration actions, and the landing would have required Mexico's assistance. nbcnews.com/politics/immig…