[Name redacted]
Our client was the victim of unlawful disappearance at the hands of the federal government. It was a punch in the gut.
Overnight, the U.S. government disappeared our client and hundreds of other people — in defiance of a federal judge’s order — without due process. Without any notice, he was deported, and like hundreds of families and attorneys, we had been piecing together whether or not he was impacted or if his disappearance while in U.S. government custody was due to some other matter.
We want to tell you about our client because he, like everyone unlawfully disappeared by our government, deserves human dignity, respect, and a chance to be free. His story needs to be told.
[Name redacted] was a veteran of the Venezuelan army in his 30s. He had no criminal background. He came to the U.S. in pursuit of asylum following his brother’s state-sanctioned murder, fearing political persecution due to his family ties.
Based upon what we know, he was first targeted for removal by this current administration because his tattoos gave the U.S. reason to suspect gang affiliation — an otherwise unsubstantiated allegation that he has adamantly denied.
Shortly after, he received a final deportation order but remained in U.S. custody at a Texas detention facility through mid-March 14th through last week. Then, without any notification to his family or RAICES attorneys, he was no longer listed in detention logs. No further information was given, and the timing triggered our fears of the worst.
We learned he was being held without access to counsel or any semblance of due process at a mega-prison, known as CECOT. This prison is plagued by allegations of human rights abuses and is infamous for its arbitrary detention and torture, not to mention the deaths of nearly 400 people. Like all those held at CECOT, he was crammed into a cell with hundreds of other men, his head shaved to symbolize his stripped humanity, with no idea if he would ever be released.
The U.S. has argued that the men unlawfully deported under the Alien Enemies Act posed an imminent threat to public safety. That’s the narrative the judiciary and American public have been expected to accept without question. But we’re left to wonder how it’s possible that a man — without a criminal record or background, held in government custody for nearly two months, and ostensibly resigned to return to Venezuela — could possibly be an imminent threat to public safety?
He wasn’t. And we must contend with the reality that countless others are at risk if we live in a society where fact no longer has meaning, where the truth will not set you free.
We currently represent 152 other Venezuelans aged 14 and older who would be targeted by the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act — yes, children ages 14 and older. We are taking precautionary measures to ensure that our clients are prepared for interactions with immigration enforcement officers, but the risks are escalating.
