Neither the Chicago Bulls nor Nike have publicly commented on a document, released last week via court filing, that lists their uniforms and sneakers as a way to identify members of a Venezuelan gang targeted for deportations.
The Trump Administration has been using the Alien Enemies Act to deport or forcefully relocate dozens of people suspected of being part of Tren de Aragua gang—some of them active asylum seekers. In a declaration filed late last week, ACLU lawyers representing some of those people produced a series of government documents related to how law enforcement agents were identifying those people. The stated identifiers included Chicago Bulls jerseys, Jordan Brand sneakers and tattoos of the Jumpman logo.
A video released recently by the government of El Salvador, which is detaining a number of those deported people, includes footage of a man with a Jumpman logo tattoo, according to NBC News.
Bulls fan gear is among the NBA’s best-selling apparel, and Jordan Brand had $7 billion in revenue in Nike’s most recent fiscal year. A representative for the Bulls declined immediate comment. A representative for Jordan Brand didn’t respond to a request.
The document, labeled Exhibit 2, is a product of Homeland Securities Investigations, the largest investigative component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It includes various characteristics that law enforcement agents could use to “help identify” members of the Tren de Aragua.
The list says members “favor the Chicago Bulls basketball jersey, specifically Michael Jordan jerseys with the number ’23’, and Jordan ‘Jump Man’ footwear.” A photo collage of nine different tattoos starts with a tattoo of the Jordan Brand logo.
The document was included in the declaration after a separate document titled “Alien Enemy Validation Guide,” which the ACLU said was being used to “determine whether Venezuelan noncitizens are members of Tren de Aragua and subject to summary removal under the Alien Enemies Act.”
Another document in the declaration, from Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Border Patrol, appears to imply that the unit’s El Paso Sector gang unit had determined that the Bulls attire was “typically related to the Venezuelan culture and not a definite indicator of being a member or associate of the [Tren de Aragua].”
The idea has received pushback from experts as well. Bill Hing, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and co-director of the school’s immigration and deportation defense clinic, told NBC News that it was “wrong and outrageous” to try to identify Venezuelan gang members because of their tattoos.
“It’s very evident that just having a Michael Jordan tattoo does not necessarily mean that a person is a gang member,” he added.
The Bulls were the fifth highest-selling NBA team over the first half of this season, based off data from the league’s official online shop. They trailed only the Celtics, Lakers, Knicks and Warriors.