British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document

Real fans might be gettin swept up in ICE raids in the USA.

As a Liverpool fan, I find this completely acceptable.

(Jk, even Real fans should have their rights respected)

Real hasta la muerte, is actually a phrase popular amongst reggaeton fans. It was popularized by Wisin and Yandel in the musical genre. It became a cultural definition of the attitude towards life of being always real, as in not fake. Not a poser, genuine legitimate, not pretending to be someone you're not. It was an attitude reactionary against the intrusiveness of north american record companies trying to comodify Puerto Rican music and artists. It also marks a social statement against rich white or privileged hispanic descendants who attempt to pose as members of a culture they don't belong to. And also pride about their Latin culture, as they don't need to pretend to be American or change their art to sell more and appease the anglo market either.

A more appropriate translation is "I'll be true to myself until I die".

It became a Puerto Rican music label, and is also the name of a popular album by reggaeton artist, Anuel. It has nothing to do with crime gangs. But it's also not about football. Hispanic fans rarely use "hasta la muerte" to express support, we have plenty of other more idiomatic expressions.

Are a bunch of millennials and gen-x deemed gang members because they followed a trend?

Yes. That's the point. They decide they don't like someone because of something they posted on social media, or texted, or whatever, then they look for a tattoo that they can pretend means gang membership, and boom, the person who dared to say something against them is sent to the new gulag.

They're using tattoos because there's a segment of America all pearl-clutchy about them, who subconsciously think anyone with a tat must be trash and involved in gang stuff. And because some people assume those with tats are trash, it's easier to vanish them without as much widespread protest. The presence of tats will be used to victim-blame.

It's similar to how various drugs were targeted to get rid of white liberal hippies who smoked weed and black people by throwing them in jail. Find some trait that a portion of the population you want to lock up shares, make it illegal or, in this case, a "symbol" of "gang membership", then whisk away the people you intended to target all along.