Real Madrid, Chicago Bulls: How ICE and Homeland Security criminalize immigrants over sports logos

“Everyone from El Salvador knows what it means when you wear a Bulls cap. It means you’re in MS-13,” declared Fox News host Jesse Watters on the Tuesday, April 15 edition of his primetime show. Watters was referring to Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant deported to his home country and held in the CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center) following what was described as an “administrative error.” There is no evidence linking Abrego García—who was a legal U.S. resident at the time of his arrest—to the MS-13 gang.

Watters’ on-air rant wasn’t unprompted. Efforts by the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants have led ICE agents to generalize the traits of their potential targets. During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to expel 15 million undocumented immigrants from the U.S. Raids, random home and vehicle searches, and routine traffic stops have become commonplace across the country as part of that push. Beyond the legal implications, the issue lies in how these targets are identified—often suspected of involvement in organized crime or transnational terrorism based on superficial or flawed indicators.

In March 2025, Jerce Reyes Barrios, a Venezuelan-born youth soccer coach, was deported to El Salvador along with 200 others under the Alien Enemies Act. Reyes and others on the same flight were accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal syndicate with operations stretching from Central America to the U.S. Despite a ruling by Judge James Boasberg that struck down this deportation framework and ordered planes en route to El Salvador to return, the U.S. government ignored the order.

Tattoos lead to deportations

Homeland Security identified Reyes Barrios as a member of Tren de Aragua because of a tattoo on his right arm inspired by Real Madrid. His attorney, Linette Tobin, argued that her client is simply a passionate fan of the Spanish club and has no criminal record in Venezuela or the U.S. The tattoo features a soccer ball, a crown, and a rosary—closely resembling the club’s crest. Nothing in the design points to gang affiliation, except under Homeland Security’s guidelines, which link symbols like stars, watches, trains...and crowns to Tren de Aragua members.

Reyes entered the U.S. legally in September 2023 via the CBP One app to request political asylum. According to Tobin, the former footballer is a vocal opponent of the Nicolás Maduro regime, which allegedly imprisoned and tortured him in March 2024. He was reportedly subjected to electric shocks and waterboarding in a clandestine detention site. After fleeing to the U.S., he applied for humanitarian protection through CBP One. His immigration hearing was scheduled for April 17, but ICE detained him on Saturday, March 15, and placed him on the first deportation flight authorized under a bilateral agreement with El Salvador. Reyes Barrios is now believed to be held at the Bukele administration’s CECOT mega-prison, where more than 14,000 alleged gang members—and since March 2025, immigrants and U.S. legal residents—are incarcerated. The Trump administration has not described his case as a “mistake,” as it did with Abrego García.

Latinos and sports logos: a campaign of demonization

Real Madrid and the Chicago Bulls. The criminalization of undocumented immigrants who wear sports apparel has found a megaphone in right-wing media and pro-Trump social media accounts. Watters didn’t stop with García. He laid out an absurd logic connecting the Bulls cap to gang activity: if he wears the cap, he must be a criminal—because, after all, he lives in Maryland, not Chicago, and probably can’t name a single Bulls player. “The Bulls lost 60 games in 2019 (the year one of the viral photos of García was taken), so why wear the cap? Can he name anyone besides Jordan? You don’t just accidentally wear red and say, ‘oh, I didn’t know red meant blood,’” Watters said. According to a YouGov study cited by the NBA, the Bulls have around 22 million Spanish-speaking fans across the U.S., Latin America, and Spain—despite their losing records and nearly three decades without a championship.

Watters’ tirade is rooted in a 2019 arrest of Kilmar García outside a Home Depot in Maryland. According to Prince George’s County police records, a confidential informant claimed García Abrego was linked to MS-13’s New York cell. At the time of his arrest, the Salvadoran was wearing a Bulls cap and hoodie, enough for law enforcement to associate him with the gang.

Both immigrants were deported under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used law that allows the U.S. president to expel individuals from enemy nations without trial or due process. Neither ICE nor Homeland Security provided substantial evidence linking the two men to MS-13 or Tren de Aragua—both designated terrorist organizations by executive order.

The Jordan logo under suspicion

Homeland Security also lists the Jumpman—the iconic silhouette of Michael Jordan trademarked by Nike—as a possible gang marker. The image, based on a 1984 photo of Jordan taken for a marketing campaign, has since become one of the most recognizable logos in sports apparel. Nike reported $5 billion in revenue from the Jordan brand in 2022. The logo, which has adorned Paris Saint-Germain’s uniforms since 2019, has achieved cult status among basketball fans. But according to U.S. authorities, having it tattooed on your body could now be used as evidence of gang affiliation.

Yahoo News also reported that ICE may begin tracking individuals who wear jerseys or apparel from U.S. teams with Venezuelan players—an extensive list, especially in Major League Baseball.

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