It took openly gay stylist Andry Hernandez Romero a year to reach the United States. Following a guarded exit from his native Venezuela, a trip on foot through the jungle-like and nearly impenetrable rain forest known as the Darien Gap and a few months spent in Mexico, he arrived at the southern U.S. border on August 29, 2024, seeking asylum for fear of persecution because of his political beliefs and sexual orientation.
He was initially held at the San Diego detention center, then transferred to the Webb County Detention Center in Texas, while his asylum case was still pending. But before he was able to attend a hearing related to his request, he was illegally deported to El Salvador by Donald Trump’s ICE anti-immigrant squad. After being held in US immigration custody for nearly seven months, Hernandez spent 125 days in the notorious CECOT prison.
According to Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Hernandez Romero was released on July 18 as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Venezuela.
“The news of Andry’s release brings both relief and anger,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. “This country has long been a beacon of hope and a safe harbor for those yearning for freedom. But the Trump Administration is torching our values, using people like Andry as pawns in their quest for power.
“Andry will not have to lay his head down in a Salvadoran gulag tonight, and that is welcome news. But he should have never been subjected to unknown terrors in that prison, his due process rights continue to be denied, and we do not know what awaits him in the country he fled due to persecution for his sexual orientation.
“We are in a constitutional crisis – grappling with a reckless administration upending the rule of law and terrorizing the vulnerable to consolidate power. The targeting of immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and basic civil liberties are not unrelated; they are a coordinated assault on liberty and justice. As LGBTQ+ Americans, many of whom identify as immigrants, we recognize this pattern and stand unwaveringly with Andry, immigrant communities – and all whose freedoms are under attack.”
Rallies against ICE, the actions of the El Salvadoran government’s actions and in support of Hernandez continue throughout the United States. While internet chatter indicated the possibility of a rally at the El Salvadoran Embassy in Charlotte on July 24, no further details have been forthcoming.
Although there are currently no specific reports about Hernandez since he has returned to Venezuela, online research implies after touching down at Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, many of the 250 men were reunited with family members before case reviews begin in Venezuela.
Because of the political climate and social attitudes towards LGBTQ+ individuals in Venezuela, Hernandez Romero’s safety and future remain in question, and it remains unclear if he will be allowed to return to the US for an asylum hearing.
