Latest news with #AndryJoséHernándezRomero
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Queens Pride Parade highlights LGBTQ+ rights and unity
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — The beginning of Pride Month kicked off with the 33rd annual Queens Pride Parade, the second-oldest pride parade in the city. This year's celebration also included direct messages to the Trump administration. More Local News 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, was filled with colors, music, and Pride Sunday afternoon. 'Love everyone, love everybody,' shouted one of the attendees. A message of love along with this year's theme, defiant Joy and Unity. 'It is probably the most important pride of our lifetime because of the hate and attacks and trying to erase our community,' said David Kilmnick, President of the LGBT Network. Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz and Jessica González-Rojas were two of the three Grand Marshals for this year's Queens Pride Parade. The third one was Andry José Hernández Romero, who is now detained in the maximum-security Prison, CECOT, in El Salvador after being deported by the Trump Administration in March. Romero is a gay man who was seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing Venezuela in May of last year due to alleged threats because of his sexual orientation. He was deported because the government claims his tattoos link him to the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. 'Andry represents everything that is Queens. He is queer, he is an artist, and he is an immigrant. That is who we are,' said Rojas. 'This is not normal. We can't normalize the disappearance of people under a constitution that is supposed to protect us all, no matter who the president is,' added Cruz. The first Queens Pride Parade was held on June 6, 1993. Decades later, attendees are saying that today is more important than ever to show up because of the current political climate under the Trump administration. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State 'I really wish they would rethink a lot of these positions; people of the LGBTQ community just want to be able to live and love and have the life that everybody else wants.' Said Aubrey Nelson. 'Syddiq and his wife, Sabar, brought their son, Syris. They say they want him to learn about equality from a very young age. 'You just have to accept everyone, hatred is straight up for losers,' said Syddiq With thousands of spectators, over 140 diverse groups marched down from 89th to 75th Street, promoting the visibility and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community and fostering acceptance. 'Transgender people are human, transgender people are right, transgender people are not invisible,' SOT Yanitza Lara. Others are also sending a message to younger generations. 'Come out, don't be afraid, be yourselves! Stand up for yourself no matter what!' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Queens Pride Parade 2025: The start to NYC's Pride Month
The Brief Pride month in New York City kicks off with the New Queens Pride Parade and Festival, the second-oldest pride parade in the city. The 33rd annual Queens Pride parade kicks off today, June 1, at 12 p.m. The parade will march down 37th Avenue, from 89th Street to 75th Street, in Jackson Heights, and it will feature over 140 groups. QUEENS - The New Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival is kicking off the month in New York City. What we know The 33rd annual New Queens Pride parade kicks off today, June 1, at 12 p.m. The parade will march down 37th Avenue, from 89th Street to 75th Street, in Jackson Heights, and it will feature over 140 groups. According to the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), these streets will be closed for the parade and festival: Formation: 89th Street, between 35th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue Route: 37th Avenue, between 89th Street and 75th Street Dispersal: 75th Street, between 37th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue Festival: 75th through 76th Street, between 37th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Road, between 74th Street and 77th Street These streets will be closed at the discretion of the New York Police Department in Queens. There are three Grand Marshals this year – these are individuals that are recognized as ceremonial leaders of the parade. Andry José Hernández Romero, the honorary Grand Marshal of the parade, is a gay man from Venezuela who was deported by the Trump administration after seeking asylum in the United States. Romero fled Venezuela after facing threats for being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Romero was deported to El Salvador and is now detained in the maximum security prison CECOT, or the Terrorism Confinement Center. Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, one of the two other Grand Marshals, represents Assembly District 39, which encompasses Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, as well as parts of Middle Village and Rego Park. The last Grand Marshal is Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, who represents Assembly District 34, which includes Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside. The Pride Festival will be held at the intersection of 37th Road and 75th Streetin Queens, Jackson Heights, and it will run from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Queens Pride Parade was formed in response to two events. One catalyst was Julio Rivera's murder in 1990 – Rivera, a 29-year-old Jackson Heights bartender, wasattacked and killed by members of a local gang because he was gay. The other was the public outcry to the Children of the Rainbow Curriculum, created by the New York City Department of Education in 1991 to teach children tolerance towards diverse communities. The original Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival was held on June 6, 1993, and an estimated 10,000 people were in attendance. The parade inspired the formation of pride marches in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and is the second-oldest pride march in New York City. The Source This article includes reporting from the New Queens Pride Parade and Festival website, as well as information from the websites of the New York City Department of Transportation and a few New York government officials.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At least 50 migrants sent to El Salvador prison entered US legally, report finds
At least 50 Venezuelan men sent by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador had entered the United States legally, according to a review by the Cato Institute. The report, published by the libertarian thinktank on Monday, analyzed the available immigration data for only a portion of the men who were deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), and focuses on the cases where records could be found. 'The government calls them all 'illegal aliens.' But of the 90 cases where the method of crossing is known, 50 men report that they came legally to the United States, with advanced US government permission, at an official border crossing point,' Cato said in its report. Related: The desperate search for a father disappeared by Trump to El Salvador: 'We don't know anything' This number aligns with broader trends among Venezuelan migrants, many of whom entered the country either as refugees or through a Biden-era parole program that granted two-year work permits to those with US-based sponsors. 'The proportion isn't what matters the most: the astounding absolute numbers are,' reads the report. 'Dozens of legal immigrants were stripped of their status and imprisoned in El Salvador.' Cato's analysis goes against the Trump administration's justification for sending the men to El Salvador, saying that only undocumented people were deported. The report says that 21 men were admitted after presenting themselves at a port of entry, 24 were granted parole, four were resettled as refugees, and one entered the US on a tourist visa. The Trump administration deported more than 200 alleged gang members to the Cecot mega-prison in March, controversially invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law meant only to be used in wartime, as justification. The Cecot prison is known for its harsh conditions, and lawyers for Venezuelan deportees have alleged that the migrants being held there are victims of physical and emotional 'torture'. Related: US supreme court allows Trump to revoke protected status for Venezuelans The deportations have since drawn widespread scrutiny. To date, the Trump administration has not released complete records for the more than 200 Venezuelans transferred to El Salvador. Cato's review includes information for 174 men whose cases have some degree of public documentation. The Trump administration has accused many of the deported Venezuelan men of gang involvement, but in many cases, those claims appear to hinge largely on their tattoos. Many of the tattoos cited as evidence have no connection to gang activity. The markings reflect, in many cases, personal or cultural references. Cato uses the example of Andry José Hernández Romero, a makeup artist, who has crown tattoos on his arms that reference the Three Kings Day celebrations in his Venezuelan hometown. The report comes amid a sprawling crackdown on immigrants in the US. On Monday, the supreme court ruled that the Trump administration could proceed with efforts to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans. Ending TPS, which protects foreign citizens who cannot return home because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances, could open up approximately 350,000 people for potential deportation. Agencies contributed reporting
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump DOJ Ordered ICE to Invade Homes Without Search Warrant
The Justice Department quietly invoked the Alien Enemies act last month to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents the power to conduct warrantless searches of people's homes as long as they suspect them to be an 'alien enemy.' USA Today obtained the memo that contained this order on Friday. 'As much as practicable, officers should follow the proactive procedures above—and have an executed Warrant of Apprehension and Removal—before contacting an Alien Enemy,' the memo reads. 'However, that will not always be realistic or effective in swiftly identifying and removing Alien Enemies.… An officer may encounter a suspected Alien Enemy in the natural course of the officer's enforcement activity, such as when apprehending other validated members of Tren de Aragua. Given the dynamic nature of enforcement operations, officers in the field are authorized to apprehend aliens upon a reasonable belief that the alien meets all four requirements to be validated as an Alien Enemy. This authority includes entering an Alien Enemy's residence to make an AEA apprehension where circumstances render it impracticable to first obtain a signed Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal' (emphasis added). In the memo, the Justice Department defined an 'alien enemy' as anyone who is 14 years of age or older, not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a citizen of Venezuela, and 'a member of the hostile enemy Tren de Aragua,' per the Alien Enemy Validation Guide, a document that has already been slammed by immigration experts. The broad definition has already resulted in the apprehension and deportation of more than 200 men to El Salvador who just happened to have tattoos, like gay makeup artist Andry José Hernández Romero. This type of order will likely lead to more indiscriminate arrests and wanton racial profiling. The memo, which is from March 14, is another massive departure from the U.S. immigration norms.
NBC News
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Family of Venezuelan make-up artist deported to El Salvador speaks out
Andry José Hernández Romero, a makeup artist, was among the Venezuelans deported without a court hearing under the Alien Enemies Act to El Salvador's mega-prison. The family spoke with NBC News' David Noriega about Romero's deportation and 8, 2025
