Deportations of Young Men Hit A Nerve In the Manosphere

One of our goals at Young Men Research Initiative is to address issues that are particularly impacting young men but not being talked about in that way. Trump’s deportation moves are one example.

Young men have become one of Trump’s core constituencies and the online “manosphere” has been very supportive of Trump overall. So it’s notable to see people like Joe Rogan speaking out about the deportation policy. It’s easy to imagine young men in his audience growing concerned that if they have a tattoo or wear certain sporting gear that ICE will come after them too.

Rogan said, “You got to get scared that people who are not criminals are getting lassoed up and deported and sent to El Salvador prisons [...] It’s horrific,” he added. “It’s horrific.” He continued, “The cause is: Let’s get the gang members out. Everybody agrees. But let’s not get innocent gay hairdressers lumped up with the gangs?”

The Trump Administration says it has now deported over 100,000 people, in many cases, with no due process. Most notably, 238 men were deported to a prison in El Salvador. The government claims that these men were members of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua, but has provided little evidence of their claims. A number of the men seem to have no connection at all to the gang, and were picked up and deported by accident (or because of a soccer tattoo).

There was also the recent case where the Trump Administration admitted it had sent a protected permanent resident from Maryland to a prison in El Salvador due to an “administrative error” but didn’t have the ability to bring him back.

In court filings, the ACLU submitted the criteria that the Department of Homeland Security is using to determine if a person can be detained (and deported) under this policy, including this description:

“Homeland Security Investigations, Chicago Field Office, has obtained additional information to help identify TdA members:

• Typically males in the age range of 18-25 years old;

• Dressed in high-end street wear;

• Favor the Chicago Bulls basketball jersey, specifically Michael Jordan jerseys with the number "23", and Jordan "Jump Man" footwear/sneakers;

• Often wear sports attire from U.S. professional sports teams with Venezuelan nationals on them.”

So it appears that this policy is specifically targeting young men wearing certain sporting gear (or having a tattoo). That describes a lot of young men. Pew found that 41% of Americans 18-29 have a tattoo.

Much has been written about how terrible Trump’s deportation policy is (and unconstitutional) and the real people being impacted. But there’s a lingering question of how much these cruel immigration policies will impact Trump’s political standing. Polling suggests that while Trump’s approval is going down, his approval on immigration policy is still relatively high.

The Rogan criticism is notable because it shows a crack beginning to form in the Manosphere’s support for Trump’s immigration policy. The Rogan comments received widespread coverage, including in right-leaning and libertarian outlets. To be clear, any backlash is still fairly muted and in its early stages. But these deportations are disproportionately impacting young men (ie their audience), and it’s not hard to imagine that the idea of young men being rounded up by the government could strike a chord. We will be tracking this space closely in the months ahead as the deportations continue.