A gay Venezuelan asylum seeker was recently deported from the U.S. to an El Salvadorian prison notorious for torture—without due process. The man, a makeup artist, was among 260 Venezuelans accused by the administration of being linked to Tren de Aragua, a terrorist group. However, Venezuela’s interior minister denies any of the deportees are members. The gay man’s lawyer, Lindsay Toczylowski, said on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, “These are not the tattoos of somebody who is involved with gangs. These are normal tattoos that you would see on anybody at a coffee shop anywhere in the United States or in Venezuela.”
He also warns that his client is at risk. Despite a judge questioning the legal basis for his removal, ICE refuses to facilitate communication or make him available for further proceedings. The deportation follows the administration’s revocation of asylum status for 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, exposing them to deportation under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
Federal Judge James Boasberg ruled that even undocumented individuals deserve individual hearings, but the administration has defied court orders. Photojournalist Philip Holsinger described the scene as deportees arrived: “One young man sobbed, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’” Prison guards shaved their heads, stripped them naked, and crammed 80 men into a single, barren cell. Human Rights Watch calls the facility “filthy and disease-ridden,” yet deportations continue.
