Venezuelan migrant recently deported to El Salvador had final order of removal
One of the Venezuelan migrants who is believed to be among the latest group sent to El Salvador on Sunday night was in Guantanamo Bay and had a final order of removal, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Maiker Espinoza Escalona was the lead plaintiff in one of the Guantanamo cases brought by the ACLU against the Department of Homeland Security filed last month. His partner is currently detained in a detention center in Texas and his two-year-old daughter is in HHS custody, according to the ACLU.
"The government opposed our request for TRO on the ground that he was not in imminent danger of being sent from the U.S. to Guantanamo, but told the Court they would alert it within 2 business days if he or other Plaintiffs were transferred to Guantanamo," Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the ACLU told ABC News. "The government has apparently chosen to use a loophole and transfer him on a Friday night, thereby avoiding notice to the Court at this point. He has apparently now been transferred to the notorious Salvadoran prison."
MORE: Documents appear to show how Trump admin identifies Venezuelan gang members: ACLU
Gelernt said he has serious concerns about the government's "sudden allegations" against Escalona. "He and others being sent to the Salvadoran prison must be given due process to test the government's assertions," Gelernt added.
A White House official tells ABC News that the 17 alleged gang members who were deported to El Salvador last night were not deported under the Alien Enemies Act but under different authorities, including under Title 8 authorities.
It's not clear whether the individuals including Escalona who were deported would have been protected by the Temporary Restraining Order issued by a federal judge on Friday that blocked the deportation of migrants to countries other than their own without giving them a chance to argue their removal in immigration court.
In a sworn declaration filed in early March before he was allegedly sent to Guantanamo, Escalona said he had been in immigration detention since May 22, 2024, in El Paso, Texas. He entered the country on May 14 and requested asylum, according to his declaration.
"I believe that I am at risk of being transferred because I have a final order of deportation and am from Venezuela," Escalona said in the sworn declaration. "I also believe that I am going to be transferred to Guantanamo because of my tattoos, even though they have nothing to do with gangs. I have twenty tattoos."
MORE: El Salvador prison holding alleged Venezuelan gang members has been criticized for alleged abuses
Escalona went on to list his tattoos he has that include a cross, a crown, the ghost icon for the social media app Snapchat, his niece's name and the word "Faith" in Spanish.
"I do not want to be transferred to or detained at Guantanamo," Escalona said in the declaration files in early March. I am afraid of what will happen to me when I get there. "I want access to an attorney to help me get out of detention and figure out what options I have in my immigration case."
According to Escalona's sworn declaration and the ACLU, his partner is currently detained in El Paso and his two-year-old daughter is under the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
"If I am transferred to Guantanamo, I will be separated from my family," Escalona said.
Venezuelan migrant recently deported to El Salvador had final order of removal originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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