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They were arrested during routine ICE check-ins. Then they disappeared.

They were arrested during routine ICE check-ins. Then they disappeared.

Washington Post22-03-2025

SAN ANTONIO — Henrry Albornoz Quintero's family had been tracking his whereabouts through an online detainee locator ever since he was arrested and put in deportation proceedings after a routine check-in with immigration officials in late January.
But on Friday — less than a week before the expected birth of his son — the Venezuelan man disappeared from the database.
'Your search has returned zero (0) matching records,' the government website states.

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Rally outside CBP office in Detroit condemns Trump's mass deportations
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Rally outside CBP office in Detroit condemns Trump's mass deportations

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Fact Check: Breaking down Texas house raid where ICE detained more than 40 people, including minors

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Since then, there has been no proof of life. Related: Kristi Noem won't say if gay asylum-seeker deported to El Salvador's 'hellhole' prison is still alive On Monday, Torres joined Rep. Robert Garcia, a fellow gay congressman from California, and 50 other Democratic lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding a welfare check, legal access, and Hernández Romero's immediate release. 'The United States government, alone, is responsible for Mr. Hernández Romero's imprisonment,' the letter stated. 'It's been over 80 days since we've had any confirmation that he's alive,' Garcia told The Advocate. 'His story has particularly galvanized the LGBTQ+ community.' The administration deported Hernández Romero under a 2025 executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a centuries-old law last used to imprison Japanese Americans during World War II. Human rights groups say the CECOT prison he was sent to is functionally a black site — cut off from outside contact and designed to break prisoners. On Friday, about 300 people rallied on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, demanding Hernández Romero's return and condemning the policy that led to his disappearance. 'He would have loved to be here at WorldPride with all of us,' Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, which represents Hernández Romero', told the crowd. 'Instead, he is suffering in a prison that officials have bragged people only leave in a coffin.' Related: Gay asylum-seeker's lawyer worries for the makeup artist's safety in Salvadoran 'hellhole' prison At the rally, gay Crooked Media cofounder Jon Lovett told supporters, 'They can bring Andry back any time they fucking want.' Human Rights Campaign senior vice president Jonathan Lovitz declared, 'Our Constitution does not say due process only for citizens. It says that all people — all people — deserve justice.' Writer and podcaster at The Bulwark Tim Miller, who is gay, added, 'We did this to Andry — not some crooked cop or some foreign government. We did it.' Gay California U.S. Rep. Mark Takano invoked his own family's internment during World War II to denounce the deportation. 'Let's be crystal clear,' he said. 'We must repeal the Alien Enemies Act. None of us gets to sit this out.' Later that evening, at a live show taping and fundraiser hosted by Crooked Media and The Bulwark at the Lincoln Theatre, Garcia described the stakes in personal terms. 'Regardless of your opinion on immigration, this is about due process. This is about the Constitution of the United States,' he said. He recounted a face-to-face exchange with U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador William Duncan, who told him that Hernández Romero's case was 'the first I've heard of this,' despite weeks of public advocacy. 'That day, he promised to do an inquiry,' Garcia said. 'We never got a wellness check.' Longwell, a former Republican strategist, pressed the moral argument of another wrongly deported person, Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the administration returned to the U.S. to face what some call dubious criminal charges. 'I don't care if [Kilmar] Abrego Garcia is a bad guy. He still deserves due process,' she said. 'How do Republican college kids justify disappearing people to foreign countries without a trial?' Related: Jon Lovett and Tim Miller team up to 'raise hell' over gay asylum-seeker vanished to El Salvador by Trump Garcia responded sharply. 'They can't,' he said. 'The Constitution means nothing to them anymore. Most of them were born into this incredible honor and privilege of being in the United States — and they forget where their parents or grandparents came from.' The California congressman said immigrants like Hernández Romero — and like himself — often have a deeper connection to American values. 'I fought for the thing most folks were born with,' Garcia said. 'I believe in the Constitution. And it affords all persons the right to due process, not just citizens.' Torres, who could not attend the event in person, donated $1,000 in campaign funds to support legal efforts to free Hernández Romero, a spokesperson confirmed. 'It's now Pride Month when we celebrate the right to live freely and love openly,' Torres said in the video. 'The very reason Andry came to America. Instead of celebrating Pride like the rest of us, Andry is suffering as we speak in a torture chamber. We cannot remain silent.' Torres was also among the 75 House Democrats who joined Republicans on Monday in passing a resolution that expressed 'gratitude' to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The vote came amid widespread protests in Los Angeles after ICE raids swept up more than 50 people, including some legally present in the United States. As tensions escalated, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard, and on Tuesday, the U.S. Marine Corps over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and local officials, who warned of 'an unprecedented power grab.' The resolution also condemned antisemitism in the wake of a recent attack by an Egyptian man who threw fire bombs at members of the Jewish community in Colorado. Editor's note: This article was updated to include additional reporting.

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