Lawyers say some deported by ICE weren't gang members, were targeted for tattoos

In several sworn declarations, attorneys, relatives and a former official for the Department of Homeland Security have pushed back on the Trump administration's deportation last weekend of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The declarations, which were filed overnight Wednesday, detail how some of the migrants were detained and how they were transferred to detention facilities in Texas before being sent to El Salvador. The declarations also allege that many of the migrants do not have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua or have any criminal records.

An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged in a sworn declaration earlier this week that "many" of the noncitizens deported under the Alien Enemies Act did not have criminal records in the United States.

When asked by ABC News about how authorities are determining if migrants are gang members, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the Trump administration is "not going to reveal operational details about a counterterrorism operation."

Michelle Sarabia Gonzalez, the sister of Anyelo Jose Sarbia, who is believed to be in El Salvador, said in a sworn declaration that when she and her brother went to a routine ICE check-in two months ago as part of the asylum application process, officials did not allow her brother to leave.

"The officers asked me whether my brother belonged to a gang and about a tattoo that is visible on his hand," Gonzalez said. "The tattoo on his left hand is of a rose with money as petals." Gonzalez said in her declaration that her brother is not affiliated with Tren de Aragua.

In several declarations, attorneys described how their clients were placed on a plane for deportation but were removed because a Temporary Restraining Order was issued before the plane departed.

Attorney Stephanie Quintero said her client was told by an ICE agent, "You all do not know how lucky you are. You all hit the lottery because you are not getting deported today."

Quintero said her client and several other detainees were removed from the plane and sent back to El Valle Detention Center.

Attorney also described how authorities brought them by bus to the plane after taking them out of detention centers in Texas over the weekend.

"They were chained from top to bottom -- wrists, waist, ankles, chains which came up through their backs so they could barely move," said Quintero.

One of the detainees, Quintero said, almost passed out on the bus "from heat exhaustion and dehydration and started bleeding profusely from his nose."

"The detainees notified the guards, but they did not provide that person with medical attention," Quintero said. The incident was also mentioned in a declaration from another immigration attorney.

Austin Thierry, an attorney who represents a Venezuelan migrant named E.V. who is believed to be in El Salvador, said his client did not have removal orders and has a hearing scheduled before an immigration judge in June.

Thierry said E.V. has an infant son who is a U.S. citizen. According to Thierry, E.V. was detained after ICE officials showed up to his house looking for another individual.

"Since E.V.'s detention, his partner and infant son have struggled to meet their expenses and maintain housing," Thierry said.

Thierry said he believes his client's crown tattoo "may be why ICE falsely accused him of gang membership."

"This crown is not related to Tren de Aragua, but rather a tribute to his grandmother whose date of death appears at the base of the crown," Thierry said.

Attorney Linette Tobin, who represents Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who protested the Maduro regime and was detained and tortured after one of the demonstrations, said his client was falsely accused of having a gang-affiliated tattoo.

"He chose this tattoo because it is similar to the logo for his favorite soccer team Real Madrid," said Tobin.

Deborah Fleischaker, a former DHS official, pushed back on a declaration filed earlier this week by an ICE official who claimed that the alleged gang members were deported because ICE is not prepared to detain members of TdA.

"ICE detention facilities in the United States are prepared to detain any noncitizen, regardless of their security risk level," said Fleischaker in her sworn declaration. "This includes people with violent criminal histories, as well as members of gangs and Foreign Terrorist Organizations."

The former DHS official said ICE detention facilities are able to manage all levels of detainees and said that ICE could have detained the individuals safely "for the duration of their removal proceedings."

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said in a filing that the migrants who were sent to El Salvador "face prison conditions that have been deemed harsh and life threatening due to systemic abuse in the prison."

The ACLU attorneys added that the Alien Enemies Act does not provide a process for individuals to contest that they are members of the TdA or provide individuals with a "statutory grace period" to seek judicial review.

After Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, lawyers said, "people with upcoming immigration proceedings started being moved overnight from ICE detention facilities around the country and not allowed to appear at their proceedings, where many were seeking asylum," the lawyers said.