ImmDef Decries U.S. Government’s Role in Disappearing Venezuelan Men under Alien Enemies Act, Celebrates Release of Clients, and Calls for Due Process

immdef
Jul 18
2 min read

July 18, 2025

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ImmDef Decries U.S. Government’s Role in Disappearing Venezuelan Men under Alien Enemies Act, Celebrates Release of Clients, and Calls for Due Process

CARACAS, VENEZUELA – Immigrant Defenders Law Center confirms that on Friday, July 18, 2025, Andry Hernández Romero and over 250 Venezuelan men -- who were denied due process and were disappeared by the U.S. government to El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security CECOT prison on March 15, 2025 -- were released from CECOT and sent to Venezuela. For 125 days, these men were held incommunicado, with no access to their families or attorneys, in a prison notorious for abuse and torture. The vast majority of these men had no criminal history, a fact well-known by the Trump administration prior to disappearing them. Many of the freed men were in active asylum proceedings prior to the March 15 flight, including Andry Hernández Romero, a gay makeup artist who fled political and LGBTQ persecution. Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) represents eight men, including Mr. Romero, in their U.S. asylum proceedings.

While ImmDef has not received official confirmation from any government source, many of the families we are working with have been told by the Venezuelan government that their loved ones are returning today. We were able to identify Andry exiting the plane in news coverage of the flights arriving in Venezuela.

In response to this news, Lindsay Toczylowski, President and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, issued the following statement:

“We have been fighting to free Andry, our other clients, and all the men from CECOT for more than four months. We are incredibly relieved that it appears most of them have been freed from the torture prison the U.S. government sent them to, and potentially may be reunited with family soon. But as an American, and as a lawyer who believes deeply in the rule of law and due process, my heart remains heavy. What happened here is a dangerous travesty of justice. We have long known that the allegations that the men at CECOT were members of a dangerous gang were baseless. We know the Trump administration denied them due process and sent them to a prison notorious for abuse and torture. The Trump administration misled the public and our courts by claiming that the U.S. government was not in control of what happened to the men at CECOT, only to eventually—after 125 days--orchestrate a prisoner swap using human beings as pawns. So, while we are grateful they will not spend another night being tortured in El Salvador, we also grieve the ongoing and lasting damage being done to our democracy by an administration that is willing to violate our Constitution, U.S. asylum laws, and international law. While the Trump administration escalates their use of authoritarian practices meant to intimidate people into submission, we will keep fighting for justice for immigrants and for the future of our country.”

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Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards realizing the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense legal services in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.