OUTCOME: After a four-month ordeal, all 252 Venezuelan nationals that the Trump administration illegally expelled from the USA to El Salvador were returned to Venezuela on July 18, 2025. While the men have been freed from CECOT, we remain deeply concerned about their wellbeing and rights. Amnesty International will monitor the situation and respond accordingly. For now, we are relieved that 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.
NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
Andry José Hernández Romero is 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 17th. But two days before his hearing, the U.S. unlawfully detained and expelled him overnight to CECOT, one of the most dangerous prisons in the Americas.
There was no court order authorizing Andry’s removal. No notification of his attorney and no hearing to contest allegations against him.
Call on the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to immediately return Andry and all others, ensure they can continue their immigration proceedings in the U.S., and halt any further expulsions..
- Email your message now!
- Send a letter to Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
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Dear Secretary Noem,
I am extremely concerned over the recent unlawful expulsions of individuals from the United States to El Salvador under the purported authority of the Alien Enemies Act.
Despite a court order prohibiting their removal, 238 individuals were expelled to El Salvador on March 16, followed by 17 more on March 30. These individuals include people who were engaged in ongoing legal proceedings, had no criminal record or ties to a gang, or had already been granted protection under U.S. law, including the Convention Against Torture. Many were expelled without removal orders, a violation of established legal processes. Disturbingly, these individuals have been transferred to the Centro de Confinamiento Contra el Terrorismo (CECOT), a prison notorious for its inhumane conditions. The families of those unlawfully sent to El Salvador have not received any official information about their loved ones’ whereabouts.
The United States must uphold the principle of non-refoulement, which unequivocally prohibits states from returning, removing, or transferring individuals to any country where they would face a real risk of serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment. By expelling these individuals to El Salvador, the U.S. government has placed them in grave danger. Further removals, particularly any subsequent transfer to Venezuela, would constitute additional violations of international law.
I urge you to immediately return those that were illegally removed to El Salvador so that they can continue their immigration proceedings in the US, and halt any subsequent expulsions, complying with the decisions of the US Judiciary.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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