While working as a makeup artist for a TV station on Caracas, 31-year-old Andry Hernandez Romero experienced hostility and discrimination for his sexual orientation and opposition to the Venezuelan authoritarian government. Seeking asylum, in 2024 he crossed the Mexican border at a legal port of entry, having made an appointment under President Biden's Customs and Border Protection (CBP One) program. He was taken into custody at the legal border crossing and held while his case was processed. Have you heard of Andry Hernandez Romero?

Hernandez's attorney said his attempt to gain asylum was promising, as the government found the threats against him to be credible. But after he had spent 6 months in detention, when Hernandez failed to appear for a court hearing, his lawyer was shocked to learn he had been deported to El Salvador March 15, 2025 for being a gang member. She has had no contact with Hernandez since he last spoke to her on the phone from a US immigration detention facility on March 14 . Does it seem appropriate that his attorney was not informed about what was going on?

Despite having no criminal record in Venezuela or the US, the US government contends that Hernandez's tattoos connect him to a Venezuelan gang. Photos had been taken of his snake, roses, flowers, and butterfly tattoos; but the issue was the crown he had inked on each wrist with the words Mom and Dad. An immigration officer stated in his file that, "The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragun gang member". Do you think tattoos are definitive proof of gang membership?

Experts on the Tren de Aragun gang say they don't use tattoos as markers of membership. In March a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security said Hernandez's social media shows he is a gang member, but no indications of gang activity have been uncovered. Does the evidence prove to you that Hernandez is guilty of illegal gang activity?