Latest news with #Andry
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
He left Venezuela for the US, dreaming of a career in cosmetics. He was deported to a Salvadoran prison
A year ago, Andry José Hernández Romero left Venezuela to seek a better future in the United States. He wanted to continue growing his career as a makeup artist. He left behind his lifelong home in the little town of Capacho Nuevo, where he lived with his mother, father, and younger brother. On May 23, 2024 – just two days after his 31st birthday – Andry left with the hope of one day opening a beauty salon in the US, or making a living from one of his other passions: design and tailoring. But all that hope has turned to anguish. The Venezuelan makeup artist made it to the US, but his journey became 'tragic,' his mother, Alexis Romero, told CNN. Andry is one of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the US government to El Salvador in March. His loved ones have had no news of him; they are completely out of touch. As of now, there is no certainty about what will happen to him or the rest of the detainees in the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) prison. 'Please bring him back, it's been two months of anguish. We can't take it anymore. Please, put your hand on your heart and send him back. This anguish is eating us alive … I hope these people say, 'Yes, he's coming back.' That they say something, anything, just a little thing,' pleads Alexis, 65. Andry Hernández Romero turned 32 this Wednesday. He is from Capacho Nuevo, a town in the Venezuelan border state of Táchira that, according to official estimates, has fewer than 30,000 inhabitants. He is passionate about design, makeup, costume making, and acting. These artistic skills have made him well known in his hometown, where he has been an essential part of a local festival. Since he was 7, Hernández has participated as an actor in the 'Reyes Magos de Capacho' festival, which a few months ago celebrated its 108th anniversary and is a keystone cultural event in both Táchira and all of Venezuela. 'We're from a small town, but we all know each other,' Reina Cárdenas, 36, and a childhood friend of Hernández, told CNN. 'We became very good friends since we were little kids. He loved to do my makeup, loved to get me ready for the show. We shared many things, many interests. Besides the Reyes Magos festival, we'd go out to eat, we were confidants, we have a very nice friendship.' In his teens and adult life, Hernández continued acting in the festival and also started making costumes and doing makeup for cast members. He studied Industrial Engineering up to the fifth semester at the Santiago Mariño Polytechnic in San Cristóbal, a private university in Táchira. Tuition increased every month, so 'the work bug bit him' and he decided to drop out to focus on his career, his mother says. Up until then, he had spent his whole life in Capacho, except for some trips to Bogotá, Colombia, and Caracas for work. And then came his trip to the US to seek asylum and grow professionally, a trip from which he has not yet returned. Hernández has been far from home and out of contact for months in El Salvador's Cecot after being deported by the US government for alleged links to the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, accusations his loved ones deny. Andry Hernández Romero arrived in the US on August 29, 2024, specifically at the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico, after leaving Venezuela a year earlier, according to Alexis Romero and Reina Cárdenas. 'He showed up for his CBP One appointment on August 29 and from that moment he was detained in a migration center' in the US, says Cárdenas. The CBP One app, which was crucial for hundreds of thousands of immigrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry, was canceled last January by the Trump administration, which also canceled already scheduled appointments. Reina says that, from the moment he arrived – still during the Biden administration – Andry was linked to the Tren de Aragua because of his tattoos: a crown on each wrist and a snake on his forearm. His is not the only case in which US authorities have associated these tattoos with the Venezuelan criminal gang. When that happened, 'we started sending all the evidence they asked for' to prove otherwise and so Andry could continue his asylum application, adds his childhood friend. 'They had nothing against him, no evidence,' says Reina Cárdenas. 'We submitted everything they requested at the time for the investigation they were conducting, because from the moment he entered the country they linked him to the Tren de Aragua and it was only because of the tattoos. They had no other reason, never submitted any evidence, just the tattoos.' Despite the circumstances, Cárdenas says Andry's case was progressing favorably, according to their conversations with him while he was detained and with his legal defense. 'His asylum process, up to the last we saw, was favorable,' Reina says. 'He passed the credible fear test. Everything was going very well. There were times when he wanted to be deported because of the time he'd spent locked up, and the lawyers and the judge handling his asylum told him his case was going well and to be patient, that he'd be admitted at any moment.' While Hernández's immigration case was ongoing, Trump's second term began, along with a massive government campaign against illegal immigration. Last March, after more than half a year detained since arriving at San Ysidro, the young man was deported to El Salvador. Andry Hernández is one of hundreds of migrants who in mid-March were deported to Cecot – the mega-prison built by El Salvador to incarcerate 'the worst of the worst,' according to the country's president, Nayib Bukele – under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime policy invoked by the Trump administration to expel alleged members of the Tren de Aragua. The US government moved quickly to send hundreds of migrants, including Venezuelans, on flights to El Salvador, where they remain to this day, completely out of reach. The 32-year-old Venezuelan migrant is part of a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration. The suit argues that invoking the Alien Enemies Act is illegal and violates the constitutional due process rights of the immigrants involved. 'That invocation is patently unlawful: It violates the statutory terms of the (Alien Enemies Act); unlawfully bypasses the (Immigration and Naturalization Act); and infringes on noncitizens' constitutional right to Due Process under the Fifth Amendment,' the lawsuit states. Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) handling the case, said the goal is for both Andry Hernández and the other Venezuelans in Cecot to have a fair process in the US. 'We filed this lawsuit because we know there are more than a hundred Venezuelans who were illegally sent to a brutal Salvadoran prison without ever having the chance to defend themselves. Our goal is to get all of them back to the US so they can have fair hearings,' Gelernt said in a statement sent to CNN by email. The ACLU attorney also says they have not been able to communicate with any migrants in Cecot, so Andry Hernández and the other detainees have been unable to contact their families and loved ones for more than two months. In May, the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's government resuming deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The decision was a significant defeat for the president, who wants to use the law to speed up deportations and avoid the usual required reviews. However, it is a temporary measure, and the legal battle over the president's invocation has continued in various courts. Federal courts in Texas, Nevada, Colorado, and other states have issued orders blocking the use of the law, at least in the short term, while judges consider a series of lawsuits filed by targeted immigrants. Several courts have also issued more permanent orders, and a Trump-appointed judge in southern Texas ruled on May 2 that the president had illegally invoked the Alien Enemies Act. The family of this Venezuelan say the tattoos that led to him being labeled a member of the Tren de Aragua have nothing to do with a gang and, rather, refer to the traditional Reyes Magos festival in his town. The crowns on his wrists are related to the Reyes Magos and are accompanied by the names of his mother and father, while the snake on his forearm refers to one of the roles he has played in the festival, says Reina Cárdenas. CNN asked the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about Andry's case and, without mentioning him directly, the agency said its intelligence assessments go beyond tattoos and social media reviews, without giving further details. 'DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media,' a senior DHS spokesperson told CNN in a statement sent by email. 'Tren De Aragua is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim, and murder for sport. President Trump and Secretary (of Homeland Security) Kristi Noem will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens. We are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence. We aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane.' Cárdenas and Romero say that Andry's social media also does not prove the allegations that he is a member of the Tren de Aragua. On his Instagram profile, whose first post dates to 2015, there are hundreds of photos of his work as a makeup artist and costume designer. Both shared multiple documents with CNN to prove Andry's innocence. Among them are a certificate of good conduct from the mayor of Nuevo Capacho, a certification stating he has no criminal record, and a petition from the Reyes Magos Foundation of Capacho – which organizes the festival and has watched Andry grow up – and the community at large to corroborate that Andry is 'a hardworking citizen from a good family with no criminal record, innocent and unjustly detained in El Salvador.' This petition has been signed by around 600 people. His friend and mother say the young man chose to seek asylum in the US because of problems he had while working as a makeup artist at a Venezuelan government-affiliated TV network. They say he suffered harassment for being openly gay and had difficulties for political reasons. In a statement that is part of the evidence in the class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, Alexis stated that her son 'was persecuted both for his sexual orientation and for his refusal to promote government propaganda' while working as a makeup artist at the TV network in Caracas. CNN asked the Venezuelan government about this accusation but has not received a response. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has previously spoken about the case of Venezuelans detained in El Salvador, calling the situation a kidnapping. 'I swear to you that we will rescue the 253 Venezuelans kidnapped in El Salvador, in concentration camps, as seen today,' Maduro said earlier this month during an event after the first video of the detainees at CECOT was released. 'Let's demand that those young people who are kidnapped without trial, without the right to (appear before) a judge, without the right to defense, without having committed any crime, be released immediately. And we are ready to go get them on a Venezuelan plane and bring them back to their families,' the South American leader added. In March, El Salvador agreed with the US to admit up to 300 immigrants sent by the Trump administration to be detained at Cecot after the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, an unprecedented move. El Salvador would receive about $6 million from the US for taking in detainees at that prison, according to a renewable agreement between the two governments. In April, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele proposed to Maduro the exchange of people deported to his country and imprisoned in exchange for what he considers 'political prisoners' of the Venezuelan government. Maduro responded by demanding that lawyers and family members be allowed access. Meanwhile, in the US, pressure continues for the release of Hernández and all detainees at Cecot. Margaret Cargioli, attorney at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and legal adviser to Andry Hernández, said in early May that 'due process matters' and that they will not stop until everyone is brought back to the US. 'One of the greatest forms of torture imposed by Cecot is isolating people from their loved ones: no visits, no contact, no communication,' Cargioli said at a joint event of advocacy groups and politicians. 'For more than 50 days, Andry has been isolated from the outside world without due process. But due process matters. Immigrants matter. LGBTQ rights matter. Andry and all the missing men in El Salvador matter, and we won't stop until we bring them back .' For his part, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Democratic state senator from New York, commented that what Andry and the other detainees are going through goes against American values. 'It is un-American to deport residents of this country without any kind of due process, and even more so to subject them to the conditions of a foreign prison without oversight or safety guarantees. Yet that is exactly what happened to Andry Hernández Romero, and hundreds of others, who were sent to the notoriously dangerous Cecot prison in El Salvador,' Hoylman-Sigal said at the event. 'Mr. Hernández Romero came to this country, as people have since its founding, in search of a better life after being persecuted for his sexuality in his home country, Venezuela. Today, New Yorkers gather to show our support for Mr. Hernández Romero, demand that he and all those unjustly deported by the Trump administration be brought home immediately, and call on New York City and the United States as a whole to remain the welcoming refuge for those in need that it once was,' he added.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Free Andry Live Show & Fundraiser
We're joining forces with Crooked Media's Jon Lovett on June 6 for a live show in D.C. to raise funds for Andry Hernandez Romero. We'll be joined on stage by special guests to celebrate Pride, vent, pre-game, commiserate, laugh, vent some more, and raise money for the , which represents Andry and others being held in El Salvador without so much as a hearing. Because if this administration can kidnap Andry and ship him off to a foreign gulag—if they get away with that and the media just moves on—they can do it to anyone. Tickets and More Info Here Can't make the show? You can support efforts to free Andry and other wrongly imprisoned immigrants at Want to get more involved? Join Vote Save America, the Human Rights Campaign and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center for a protest in support of Andry José Hernández Romero. This is an opportunity for WorldPride attendees, DMV area residents, and the entire LGBTQ+ community to rally around Andry as we demand his return! Action for Andry
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LGBT+ community outraged after gay makeup artist with no criminal history is deported to mega-prison in El Salvador
The Trump administration's deportation of a gay asylum seeker to a brutal Salvadoran prison has outraged LGBT+ communities rallying for his return. Makeup artist Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, 31, fled Venezuela for California in 2024, fearing persecution under Nicolas Maduro's regime and has no criminal history or gang ties, according to his family and attorneys. He lawfully entered California with an appointment through the CBP One app but was swiftly transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which labeled him a security risk because of his tattoos. He was among dozens of Venezuelan immigrants accused of being Tren de Aragua members and deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center on March 15. A coalition of California-based LGBT+ advocacy groups is pressing Donald Trump's administration for his safe return. Officials and activists joined protests in Los Angeles on Wednesday, demanding urgent government action. 'Andry came to this country believing in the promise of safety and dignity,' Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner said. 'Instead, he was met with detention, dehumanization, and ultimately, deportation.' His removal to El Salvador's brutal prison 'has cut him off from contact with others and has resulted in him being deprived of all human rights,' Hollendoner added. 'Without intervention, Andry's deportation is effectively a death sentence.' Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT+ civil rights group, said in a statement that Hernandez Romero 'deserves safety and freedom from violence — all LGBTQ+ asylum seekers do.' 'Instead, he has been thrown into a dangerous prison — without due process — at the hands of a cruel administration committed to pushing our communities out of public life,' she added. 'We firmly join our partners in demanding justice for Andry.' Hernandez Romero is now the lead plaintiff in an amended lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to revive a legal challenge in a Washington, D.C. courtroom against the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. The lawsuit demands the court's intervention 'to restrain these summary removals, and to determine that this use of the [Alien Enemies Act] is unlawful and must be halted,' and to declare the imprisonment of immigrants in El Salvador unconstitutional. A CBS photojournalist who recently captured images inside CECOT witnessed a man with a shaved head crying out for help. The man, identified as Hernandez Romero, cried out 'I'm innocent' and 'I'm gay,' according to photojournalist Philip Holsinger. Hernandez Romero faced 'constant discrimination' for his identity while working as a makeup artist for a government-sponsored news network in Venezuela, according to a sworn statement in court documents from Immigrant Defenders Law Center managing attorney Paulina Reyes, who represented him in his removal proceedings. Employers were forced to produce content supporting the Maduro regime. Hernandez Romero refused, 'and the producers at his government-sponsored station attacked him and threatened to further harm him if he did not comply,' according to Reyes. Armed groups supporting Maduro started to follow and threaten him, she said, and he quit the network and went into hiding. On August 29, 2024, he presented himself at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after making an appointment with the CBP One app. He passed the credible fear interview and entered full immigration court proceedings, but he was questioned about his tattoo and transferred to ICE custody. He has a crown tattoo on each arm with the words 'mom' and 'dad' below them. A sworn statement from his mother in court documents says he also has tattoos honoring a hometown festival celebrating the Three Wise Men, which he has participated in since he was a seven-year-old child. 'Most of the members of that theatre troupe also have crown tattoos and like to promote this event,' she wrote. 'He also worked with beauty pageants and often posted photos with pageant crowns as props. This is who he is — an artist, not a criminal.' ICE relies on an 'Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide' to decide whether Venezuelans are members of a gang the Trump administration has labelled a terrorist organization. The guide uses a scorecard with points assigned to certain characteristics. It takes eight points to declare whether someone is a member of Tren de Aragua, though officers have wide discretion to make those referrals. Tattoos alone are four points. 'On initial interview detainee Hernandez stated that he was not a member of any gang. Upon conducting a review of detainee Hernandez's tattoos it was found that detainee Hernandez has a crown on each one of his wrist. The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragua gang member,' according to ICE's intake form submitted in court documents. 'There is no evidence to believe that he is affiliated in any way with Tren de Aragua and Andry has consistently refuted those claims,' Reyes wrote. 'He fled Venezuela due to persecution for his political opinion and his sexual orientation and his tattoos have an obvious explanation that has nothing to do with a gang.' Hernandez Romero's attorney filed an asylum application on his behalf in December. He was abruptly moved to a detention facility in Texas in March despite his ongoing immigration proceedings in California, where he was scheduled to have a hearing on March 17. He was deported to El Salvador two days earlier on March 15. Hernandez Romero's mother says she is 'deeply worried' about her son's safety. 'Andry is a kind, humble, hard-working person,' she wrote. 'I am terrified for my son's safety. I have read about the prison in El Salvador, where the government is sending people without a hearing. I do not know how he is being treated, what conditions he is in, or even if he is alive. As a gay man and someone falsely accused of gang activity, I fear that he is in danger every day.'
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff's deputy released from hospital after being shot in head during traffic stop
A sheriff's deputy in Indiana has been released from the hospital months after being shot in the line of duty. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Orange County deputy Zac Andry was shot in the head during a traffic stop in January, according to the Randolph County Sheriff's Department. TRENDING STORIES: 2 injured after stabbing in area neighborhood; Suspect arrested Over 800 volunteers cleaning up trash along Darke Co. roadways; Drivers asked to be cautious Walmart employee kills 2 co-workers, injures another in after-hours shooting He was released from Frazier Rehab Institute after three months of 'intensive recovery' on April 9. 'Today means the absolute world. We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for his surgeons who literally saved his life,' Andry's wife, Darian, said in a UofL Health article. In a video shared by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, several law enforcement officers lined the road and welcomed Andry home. The shooting occurred on Jan. 3 on US Highway 150 and State Road 56, according to a spokesperson with the Indiana State Police. Austin Schepers, 33, shot Andry multiple times, including in the head, while talking to him. TV stations WLKY and WXIN report that Schepers met up with James Adams, 37, in New Albany after the shooting. Adams is accused of helping Schepers get to Louisville, Kentucky. He was later arrested and charged with assisting a criminal and false informing, both stations report. Schepers was shot and killed by Louisville police on Jan. 5 after a 'confrontation,' according to WLKY and WHSA. Victoria Howard, 35, is also facing charges in this shooting. WLKY and WHAS report that Howard was charged with assisting a criminal and false informing after she allegedly called a Lyft for Schepers after knowing he shot an officer. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
CBS News
06-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
U.S. sent 238 migrants to Salvadoran mega-prison; documents indicate most have no apparent criminal records
Three weeks ago, 238 Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. That country's president offered to take them and the Trump administration used a law not invoked since World War II to send them -- claiming they are all terrorists and violent gang members. The government has released very little information about the men. But through internal government documents, we have obtained a list of their identities and found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges. They are now prisoners. Among them: a makeup artist, a soccer player and a food delivery driver, being held in a place so harsh that El Salvador's justice minister once said the only way out is in a coffin. The shackled men were forced to lower their heads and bodies as they were unloaded from buses and taken to El Salvador's mega prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Andry Hernandez Romero was among them. Lindsay Toczylowski: Andry is a 31-year-old Venezuelan. He's a makeup artist. He is a gay man. He loves to do theatre. He was part of a theatre troupe in his hometown. Lindsay Toczylowski, Andry's attorney, says he does not have a criminal record in the United States or Venezuela. She says he left his home country last year because he was targeted for being gay and for his political views. Last May, Andry made the long trek north through the Darien Gap to Mexico, where he eventually got an appointment to seek asylum in the United States. At a legal border crossing near San Diego, he was taken into custody while his case was processed. Cecilia Vega: Did he have a strong asylum case? Lindsay Toczylowski: We believe he did have a strong asylum case. He had also done a credible fear interview, which is the very first part of seeking asylum in the United States. And the government had found that his threats against him were credible, and that he had a real probability of winning an asylum claim. But last month Andry did not appear for a court hearing. Lindsay Toczylowski: Our client, who was in the middle of seeking asylum, just disappeared. One day he was there, and the next day we're supposed to have court, and he wasn't brought to court. Cecilia Vega: You use the word "disappeared." Lindsay Toczylowski: Yeah, I use that word because that's what happened. But Andry did appear in photos taken by Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger , who was there when the Venezuelans arrived at CECOT. Holsinger told us he heard a young man say: "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a stylist." And that he cried for his mother as he was slapped and had his head shaved. By comparing Holsinger's photographs to photos of Andry's tattoos taken by the government, we were able to confirm that this is Andry. His lawyer, who is representing him pro bono, had never seen these photos before. Lindsay Toczylowski: It's horrifying to see someone who we've met and know as a sweet, funny artist, in the most horrible conditions I could imagine. Cecilia Vega: You fear for Andry's safety in there? Lindsay Toczylowski: Absolutely. We have grave concerns about whether he can survive. In October, Tom Homan , who is now the White House border czar, told 60 Minutes the Trump administration's mass deportation plan would start by removing the worst of the worst. Tom Homan: We're gonna prioritize those with convictions. We're gonna prioritize national security threats. We have to do that. You gotta get the worst first. But are they the worst? The Trump administration has yet to release the identities of the Venezuelan men it sent to El Salvador last month. We obtained internal government documents listing their names and any known criminal information. We cross referenced that with domestic and international court filings, news reports and arrest records whenever we could find them. At least 22% of the men on the list have criminal records here in the United States or abroad. The vast majority are for non-violent offenses like theft, shoplifting and trespassing. About a dozen are accused of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping. For 3% of those deported, it is unclear whether a criminal record exists. But we could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans - 179 men- now sitting in prison. In response to our findings, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said many of those without criminal records, quote "are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters, and more. They just don't have a rap sheet in the u.s." Border Czar Tom Homan said immigration agents spent hours conducting rigorous checks on each of the men to confirm they are members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang president Trump campaigned on eradicating. Donald Trump: To expedite removals of the Tren de Aragua savage gangs, I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil But in Andry's case, the only evidence the government presented in immigration court were these pictures of his tattoos, crowns, which immigration authorities say can be a symbol of Tren de Aragua Lindsay Toczylowski: These are tattoos that not only have a plausible explanation because he is someone who worked in the beauty pageant industry. But also the crowns themself were on top of the names of his parents. The most plausible explanation for that are that his mom and dad are his king and queen. Cecilia Vega: Could it be possible that there is something that perhaps the government knows that you don't? Lindsay Toczylowski: I don't think that that is possible. But if it was possible that they had some information, they should follow the Constitution, present that information, give us the ability to reply to it. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said on social media that its intelligence assessments "go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos." She said Andry's "own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua." We went back a decade and could only find photos like these. Tattoos and social media were also used to link another Venezuelan migrant— Jerce Reyes Barrios — to the Tren de Aragua gang. Immigration court documents include this Facebook post from 14 years ago showing him flashing what officers said was a gang sign. His girlfriend told us it was all about rock n' roll. Immigration agents also flagged Jerce's crown tattoo as a gang symbol. But they did not mention the crown is above a soccer ball. Jerce was a soccer player in Venezuela. His lawyer says the tattoo honors his favorite team, Real Madrid, whose logo includes a crown. Organized crime analysts told us members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang can often be identified by signature tattoos. But Tren de Aragua is different. Cecilia Vega: Are tattoos a reliable indicator of membership in Tren de Aragua? Lee Gelernt: No. Expert after expert tells us tattoos are not a reliable indicator of whether you're part of this particular gang. Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, is leading the legal challenge against the Trump administration's efforts to send migrants to CECOT. Cecilia Vega: There are a lot of people who might hear what you're saying and say, "These people don't have papers. They should be deported." To that, you say what? Lee Gelernt: If they are here illegally and don't have a right to stay, they can be deported back to their home country. If they've committed crimes, they can be prosecuted and perhaps spend many, many years in a U.S. prison. It's not a matter of, "Can these individuals be punished?" It's a matter of how the government is gonna go about doing it. Once we start using wartime authority with no oversight, anything is possible. Anybody can be picked up. Last month, President Trump did what he had promised on the campaign trail. He invoked a 1798 law called the Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to remove non-citizens without immigration hearings during times of war or invasion. Lee Gelernt: Every administration back to 1798 has understood this is wartime authority to be used when the United States is at war with a foreign government. The administration is saying, "Not only are we gonna use it against a criminal organization, but you the courts have no role. You cannot tell us that we're violating the law or stop us." Cecilia Vega: Does the U.S. even have the legal right to send someone who's been deported from its country to a foreign prison? Lee Gelernt: The United States does not have that right. You know, I wanna go back to World War II, the last time that any president used this authority. We sent people back to their home country. We didn't send them to a foreign prison. Even during World War II, Germans had the right to contest their designation under the Alien Enemies Act. As one of the judges pointed out in the Appeals Court, Nazis had more process than we're giving to these Venezuelan men. Before the three planes arrived in El Salvador, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to turn them around. Flight tracking data shows two planes were in the air at the time and one was about to take off from Texas. Instead of turning around, all the planes made a stop at a military base in Honduras. And then, despite Judge Boasberg's verbal and written orders, the planes all flew to El Salvador. Since then, the U.S. government has disclosed very few details about the operation. CBS News published the only list of all 238 deportees . Lee Gelernt: The government is refusing to answer almost every question from the court. Cecilia Vega: Based on what grounds? Lee Gelernt: Well, now they've invoked what's called the State Secrets Privilege. They are saying they can't even confirm details about the planes. We asked a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman what evidence the government has – besides tattoos and social media posts – linking people like Andry and Jerce to Tren de Aragua. She cited " state secrets " and "ongoing litigation" as the reasons "DHS cannot comment on these individual allegations." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited CECOT last month, declined our request for an interview. At the prison she recorded this video. She was standing in front of a cell packed with Salvadoran gang members - not Venezuelans. Kristi Noem: Know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people. The Trump administration is paying El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's government $6 million to house prisoners it sends to CECOT. Lawyers and family members of the Venezuelans told us they've had no contact with the men since they arrived. Cecilia Vega: Do you have any idea how long he might be there? Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor (in Spanish/English translation): We have no idea. Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor's younger brother, Alirio Guillermo, was picked up by immigration agents while working as a food delivery driver in Utah. Though he had no criminal record, he was sent to El Salvador last month. Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor (in Spanish/English translation): He is an innocent person, he has not committed any crime, and he's in a maximum-security prison. The ACLU's Lee Gelernt has spent decades challenging immigration policies of democratic and republican administrations. But on the fate of the Venezuelan men… Cecilia Vega: What would you say to these families who are terrified right now about their relatives currently sitting in this prison in El Salvador? Will they ever see them again? Lee Gelernt: I hope so, but, you know, there's a real danger that they remain there. Cecilia Vega: You're saying that there are Venezuelans who very well may have no gang ties that are right now in one of the hardest of hardcore prisons in the world that may never get out, they may never see the light of day again. Lee Gelernt: That's what I'm saying. Produced by Andy Court, Annabelle Hanflig, Camilo Montoya-Galvez. Associate producers, Katie Jahns Mary Cunningham. Edited by Joe Schanzer.
