Gay Venezuelan stylist sent to Salvadoran prison after disgraced former Milwaukee cop's report: What we know

A disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist sent to an El Salvador prison, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY. 

A report approved by the police-officer-turned-prison-contractor claimed the Venezuelan man was a member of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang. 

But concerns about the credibility of Charles Cross, Jr., 62, who signed the report, had already landed him on a list of Milwaukee County law enforcement officers accused of lying, bias, or breaking the law years earlier.

Reached by phone by a USAT reporter, Cross deferred all questions to his employer's headquarters.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump claims that he loves the idea of expanding the use of El Salvador’s prisons by sending American inmates there, but still needs to know more about it, according to a USA TODAY report.

"I love it," Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. "If [El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele] would take them, I'd be honored to give them. I don't know what the law says on that, but I can't imagine the law would say anything different ... If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I'm all for it."

Here's what to know about the case, as well as the latest on legal immigrants who have been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump’s directive to ramp up deportations.

Who is former Milwaukee cop Charles Cross Jr.?

Cross, 62, was fired from his position as a Milwaukee Police Sergeant in October 2012 after driving his car into a family’s home while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was more than double the legal driving limit, court records show.

The former officer appealed the decision and resigned in the process, according to the department. He was also being investigated for claiming overtime he allegedly hadn’t earned. USA TODAY has requested Cross's disciplinary and employment records.

Additionally, in 2007, Cross received a misdemeanor conviction after kicking in the door of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend and threatening to kill himself with his service revolver, according to court records. Afterwards, he temporarily lost his job but later was reinstated after appealing to the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission.

The incident landed him on the Milwaukee County Brady list, a compilation of law enforcement officers with credibility concerns. 

Does Charles Cross Jr. now work for ICE?

Four months after resigning from the Milwaukee Police Department, Cross was hired at CoreCivic, a company that runs many of the immigration detention centers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Today, he is one of the private prison contractors helping to identify Venezuelan migrants as members of the criminal outfit Tren de Aragua – a designation that’s landing them in a Salvadoran prison without due process. 

According to a court filing, Cross typed his name over the title “INVESTIGATOR” on the form that implicated Andry José Hernandez, a gay makeup artist from Venezuela who has denied any connection to Tren de Aragua.

Can contract workers legally make detainment decisions? 

The legality of having contract workers detain and deport people is questionable, according to Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. 

In cases such as Hernandez’s, a key issue is whether there was other corroborating evidence and whether a law enforcement official under the Department of Homeland Security made the final call to send him to El Salvador, he said.

“It would be highly problematic if that determination was being made, in fact, by a private prison employee,” Chen said.

It’s unclear whether Hernandez was also evaluated by federal agents, or if Cross and another CoreCivic employee, Arturo Torres, were Hernandez's sole screeners. It’s also unclear if other corroborating evidence was used to tie him to the criminal group.

Who is Andry José Hernandez? 

Andry José Hernandez, 30, is from Capacho, Venezuela. He worked as a makeup artist for a state-run television station, where he was constantly discriminated against and threatened for his sexual orientation and political views, according to the affidavit. 

Last year, he quit his job and fled Venezuela for the U.S. Hernandez claimed he was being persecuted as a gay man – one of the protected groups allowed to claim asylum under U.S. law.

Why was Andry José Hernandez detained?

Hernandez initially tried crossing into the U.S. illegally and was intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol agents, who returned him to Mexico, according to court filings. He then presented himself at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego in August after making an appointment through a government app called CBP One.

Hernandez passed an initial “credible fear” interview with a federal agent but, after Border Patrol officials questioned him about his tattoos, he was transferred to ICE custody and sent to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. 

There, Torres questioned Hernandez. Torres filled out questionnaires suggesting the asylum-seeker’s tattoos, including a crown on either wrist, next to the words “Dad” and “Mom,” linked him to Tren de Aragua. Hernandez repeatedly denied being part of the group, and Paulina Reyes, a lawyer for Hernandez, has said the crown tattoos represent his connection to his hometown’s annual “Three Kings” festival.

On one form, dated Dec. 10, 2024, a points-based rubric sheet titled “STG MEMBER VALIDATION / CONFIRMATION,” Hernandez was given a “5” for his tattoos. None of the other categories, including “intelligence information received from other agencies” or “group photos” with other gang members, were checked. Still, he was named a “SUSPECT.”

The document is signed “Completed by” Torres and “Confirmed by” Cross.

The Justice Department says these accelerated deportations of alleged gang members who Trump says "invaded" the U.S. are allowed under the Alien Enemies Act. This 1798 law was previously only used during declared war times against other countries.

Where was Andry José Hernandez detained?

Hernandez was transferred to a federal detention center in Texas a few weeks after his review with Torres and Cross, around March 6, according to a court filing. 

After this, he was sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT.

His lawyers haven’t heard from him since his arrival at CECOT. 

How does ICE investigate if migrants have gang affiliations? 

Former ICE acting director John Sandweg said ICE agents routinely investigate whether detained migrants had gang affiliations or criminal histories. 

Historically, the gang designation was something made by a federal official and reviewed by supervisors before the allegation went in front of an immigration judge, he said. Even then, suspicion of gang alliance was something used to target or fast-track a migrant’s deportation – not the sole reason for their removal, Sandweg said. 

“The idea that government contractors might be making that decision would be very alarming,” Sandweg said. 

“People are being rendered to a torture prison on the basis of these flimsy and inaccurate determinations,” said Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy group. “Using private prison contractors to make those determinations is just another level of recklessness.”

Internal DHS and FBI documents previously obtained by USA TODAY revealed that federal authorities for years have questioned the effectiveness of using tattoos to identify members of Tren de Aragua, also known as TdA.

“Gang Unit collections determined that the Chicago Bulls attire, clocks, and rose tattoos are typically related to the Venezuelan culture and not a definite (indicator) of being a member or associate of the (TdA),” reads a 2023 "Situational Awareness" bulletin on the criminal gang written by the U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s El Paso Sector Intelligence Unit.

Who else has ICE detained recently?

Here are just some of the individuals ICE has detained in recent weeks, according to USA TODAY reports. None of them have a criminal record.

• A Peruvian woman married to a U.S. citizen was detained by ICE for 49 days.
• ICE detained a Hmong American woman who had lived in the Milwaukee area since she was 8 months old and was deported to Laos earlier this month.
• ICE detained an international graduate student studying at Tufts University, who was in the country on a valid F-1 visa
• A lawyer for a U-M protester was detained at the airport after a spring break trip with family.
• ICE detained an Alabama doctoral student who was studying mechanical engineering.

What to do if you or someone you know is detained by ICE:

Here is what to do if you are arrested or detained by ICE, according to the American Civil Liberties Union:

• Do not give any explanations or make any decisions without a lawyer present.
• If you have been arrested by police, you have the right to make a local phone call. The police cannot listen to your call if it is to a lawyer.
• If you have been detained by ICE, you have the right to contact your consulate, or have authorities inform the consulate of your detention.
• Give your immigration number (“A” number) to your family to help them locate you. Keep a copy of your immigration documents with someone you trust. 

You can find additional information regarding your rights from the National Immigration Law Center here.

(This story was updated to change a headline.)