To say US law enforcement officials are alarmed would be an understatement. In particular, they think some emojis are a direct warning that someone has ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. This infamous brigade specialized in sadistic murder. Consequently, the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the FBI have released such alerts and threat briefings regarding threats they pose on U.S.
By mid-July 2024, the NYPD had reacted by releasing a “situational awareness” alert. They advised New Yorkers to be on the lookout for Tren de Aragua-related activity in the city. Among other things, the alert showed that gang members use certain emojis to get a point across. These express trains, swords, ninjas, aliens and strawberries create a “code language” to communicate their platforms and goals. This latest proposal has led to a passionate back-and-forth between advocates and practitioners about the validity—or lack thereof—of such claims.
Then in December 2024, the FBI together with the National Ground Intelligence Center hosted a briefing for law enforcement officials in Seattle. They targeted often overlooked emoji warnings that required immediate action. In August of 2024, US Army North sent out emergency alerts regarding the potential threat from seven different emojis. They added that the train emoji symbolizes Tren de Aragua’s ties to a railroad workers’ union. These claims have sparked concern and outrage, even among some parents, over the use of emoji interpretations as a definitive indicator of gang involvement.
Claims and Counterclaims
Former President Donald Trump labeled Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization on his first day in office. This decision has escalated the debate on how this gang affects US national security. In June, the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams touted the arrests of a cell of teens responsible for robberies and attacks on cops. They worry that these people are possible recruits for Tren de Aragua.
Rebecca Hanson, a professor at the University of Florida, has been involved in direct advocacy efforts with Venezuelan law enforcement officials. She’s currently researching Tren de Aragua’s activities in the US. She claims that “giving meaning to emoji usage” is the wrong approach. This strategy more likely focuses on their unfairly punishing innocent people.
“It’s just going to widen the net of the people they capture.” – Rebecca Hanson
Bill Hing, a law and migration studies professor, voiced comparable worries. He has great concern that broad emoji interpretations may lead to immeasurable consequences. He labeled the claims as “overbroad and going to lead to many false positives,” suggesting that reliance on emojis could lead to misidentifications and unwarranted actions against individuals.
Law Enforcement vs. Expert Perspectives
In March 2025, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shared guidance from the FBI regarding emojis in relation to Tren de Aragua’s growing threat. This briefing additionally paints a picture of just how thoroughly these interpretations have taken root in law enforcement circles. Experts caution that these narratives are the result of a critical misread of social media’s effect on civic engagement.
Ryan Shapiro, a national security and civil liberties advocate, called the trend a politically motivated overreaction that has no basis in fact. He argued that “the entire TdA panic is already a smoke and mirrors affair to disguise the Trump regime’s nativism and cruelty as a national security imperative.” His remarks are a reminder of the need for serious scrutiny of how these claims are developed and circulated in policing.
Additionally, Sirine Shebaya discussed how unproven ideas can snowball into agency-wide hysteria. “There’s a feedback loop between different law enforcement agencies that starts with something completely baseless but takes on a life of its own in a way that really impacts people’s lives,” she stated.
“While our standard practice is not to comment on specific products, to include the veracity of them, the FBI regularly shares information with our law enforcement partners to assist in protecting the communities they serve.” – FBI spokesperson
Implications for National Security
Treating emojis as indicators of gang membership has troubling implications for individual cases. Yet this issue does raise some important discussions about reevaluating national security strategies. In late 2024, the US military conducted its first deadly strike on a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean Sea. To lay the groundwork for this decision, they pointed to the growing power of Tren de Aragua. Venezuelan officials said none of the victims had ties to the gang.
This unfortunate event underscores the urgent necessity for law enforcement agencies to base their actions on strong evidence. As such, they need to go beyond the speculative readings. Experts are quick to emphasize that Tren de Aragua lacks a centralized, formalized presence in the United States. Right now, the evidence just isn’t there to say otherwise with confidence.
Even more than the questionable practice of issuing warnings as emoji, the discourse around these emoji warnings illustrates how policing meets public perception and fear of criminality. Officials are addressing the complicated web of factors that drive gang dynamics. It’s more important than ever that they operate under evidence-based strategies grounded in real data—not assumptions.