Andrie Hernandez Romero is a gay makeup artist who sought asylum in the United States for persecution in Venezuela but was deported to a prison in El Salvador, released as part of a prisoner swap, but he is sent back to Venezuela in place of the US.
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“We’ve made sure he’s in Venezuela,” said Lindsay Tozzilawski, president and CEO of the Immigration Defender Law Center. Supporter. The organization represents Hernandez Romero in legal matters.
Under the prisoner exchange promoted by the Trump administration, 10 US citizens in detention in Venezuela have been released, and more than 250 Venezuelan men have been sent to ensure the United States is jailed in El Salvador – without a legitimate process – have been sent back to Venezuela.
Hernández Romero legally entered the US in 2024, fled anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and Political persecution. After passing a credible and terrifying interview, he was deported after appearing for an appointment given to him by the US government. The Trump administration invoked the alien enemy laws of 1798, previously used to incarcerate Japanese-Americans during World War II. His lawyer says he doesn’t have, but authorities accused him of a crown tattoo on top of his parents’ name Criminal record.
Since March, he and other Venezuelan deporters have been held in the infamous prison known as CECOT. It has a reputation as a place of torture, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and inhumane circumstances.
Hernandez Romero is the leading plaintiff in a trial that challenges the Trump administration’s use of alien enemy law.
Democrat Robert Garcia, a gay immigrant, is one of the people who advocate for the release of Hernandez Romero. He posted this info on X:
Hernandez Romero’s family and his lawyers were worried that he would die in a prison in Salvador.
Photojournalist Philip Holsinger, who visited CECOT, said 60 minutes of overtime He witnessed Romero crying while the guard shaved his head, saying, “I’m innocent,” and “I’m gay.”
“He was slapped every time he spoke… he started praying and literally crying his mother,” Holsinger said. over time. “He really, really touched me, crying for his mother.”
Given the hostility of the Trump administration, questions remain about Hernandez Romero’s asylum case LGBTQ+People. Journalist Karen Ocambe, iNA Recent Subsack Columnswhich made me wonder whether the government would accept anti-LGBTQ+ persecution as a reason for granting asylum.
Cleeve Jones, a longtime activist and community organizer for the Unit Hospitality Worker Union, was drawn to the Hernandez Romero case “at the intersection of immigration rights, LGBTQ rights and legitimate processes under the law.” With many immigrants and many LGBTQ+ members united here, they created a “free Andri” poster that Marcher carried around 35 Pride Parades across the country.
Jones said Supporters He is “delighted” to hear that Hernandez Romero is alive and free. “There was something under my skin about this young man’s situation,” he said.
“I was thinking about the possibility that he might not have survived,” Jones added. “It was a great gift to get those words from his lawyer.”
Immigration Defender Law Center A statement has been issued It celebrates the release of prisoners, condemns the deportation of government men and calls for a legitimate process of law. “We’ve been fighting to free Andrey, our other clients, and all the men from CECOT for over four months,” Toczylowski said in a statement. “We are very relieved that most of them appear to be free from torture prisons. The US government may have sent them. But as an American, and as an American, and as a lawyer with a deep belief in the rule of law and legitimate process, my heart remains heavy. I was sent to a due process and a prison notorious for abuse and torture. I am willing to violate our constitution, the law of the United States asylum, and international law.
Additional reports by Christopher Wiggins.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
