In response to reports that Venezuelan nationals disappeared from the United States to El Salvador have been returned to Venezuela through a prisoner swap, Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights with Amnesty International USA made the following statement:
“The return of unlawfully expelled Venezuelans from the United States to El Salvador, brings into clear view the cruel publicity stunt these migrants were forced to be part of.
“These disappearances and arbitrary detentions should not have happened in the first place. Many of those expelled to El Salvador from the U.S. had been granted relief or had active asylum claims, and now are facing the prospect of arbitrary detention and human rights violations in the place they first fled from.
“According to publicly available information, the Venezuelans unlawfully expelled to El Salvador include individuals who were in the midst of ongoing court processes, were arrested while complying with their immigration obligations, were already granted protections in the United States including under the Convention Against Torture, and were labeled as gang members for their tattoos or connection to the Venezuelan state of Aragua with no other evidence. They were expelled without removal orders, seemingly to serve an indefinite prison sentence under a system where human rights are routinely ignored.
“Amnesty International urges the government of Venezuela to guarantee and respect these individuals’ human rights, including not re-detaining them without due process, and release all of those who are still forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained for political reasons. New research from Amnesty International concludes serious human rights violations and crimes under international law are committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in Venezuela, including enforced disappearances.
“For those who choose to continue to pursue their claims in the United States, the Venezuelan and U.S. governments must allow for their return to the U.S. so they can continue to fight their case with due process and outside of detention. According to media reports, one of the people moved to Venezuela is Andry José Hernández Romero, a 31-year-old makeup artist who fled Venezuela because he feared for his life — targeted for being gay and for his political beliefs. He came to the U.S. seeking safety last year and his asylum hearing was scheduled for March 17. But two days before his hearing, the U.S. disappeared him overnight to CECOT, one of the most cruel prisons in the Americas. Tens of thousands of Amnesty International members took action across the world calling for his release.
”None of these people should have ever been detained in such circumstances, yet they became entangled in President Trump’s broader anti-immigrant agenda and were used as pawns to stoke fear in immigrant communities. In the coming days and weeks we will learn more about the abuses these people have faced and we encourage authorities to investigate and hold the perpetrators accountable. But for now, some families will be able to hug their loved ones once again and breathe a short sigh of relief after months of anguish being separated totally incommunicado.”
