LGBTQ Agenda: Gay asylum seeker Hernández Romero sent back to Venezuela after months in notorious El Salvador megaprison

The gay makeup artist who sought asylum in the United States before the Trump administration extrajudicially removed him to an El Salvador megaprison has been sent back to his home country of Venezuela. The July 18 release of Andry Jose Hernández Romero was celebrated by LGBTQ activists and leaders even as they continued to criticize the Trump administration.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, a U.S. immigration judge dismissed Hernández Romero’s asylum claim after he was sent by the U.S. earlier this year to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known by the Spanish acronym CECOT, a megaprison known for reported human rights abuses.

Lindsay Toczylowski, one of Hernández Romero’s attorneys, issued a statement late July 18.

“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,” she stated, referring to many of the Venezuelan migrants that had been held in El Salvador. “But as an American, and as a lawyer who believes deeply in the rule of law and due process, my heart remains heavy. … 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,” Toczylowski added.

Hernández Romero was released as part of a deal with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. and much of the international community don’t recognize as the country’s legitimate president. Two hundred and fifty Venezuelans deported by the U.S. to El Salvador were exchanged for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela.

“Until today, more Americans were wrongfully held in Venezuela than any other country in the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated July 18. “Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland.”

Hernández Romero’s release was the first confirmation that he was still alive. He first came to prominence after his case appeared on the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” in early April. As the B.A.R. previously reported, gay Congressmember Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) had tried to pressure Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a May congressional hearing into seeing if the migrant was alive, to no avail. Garcia went to El Salvador in an attempt to get answers about Romero from CECOT, but was denied access.  

“We are so grateful Andry Hernández Romero is alive,” Garcia stated over the weekend. “He’s back in Venezuela and we are working to make sure he’s safe. He never should have been sent to the CECOT prison and he still deserves due process. We won’t stop fighting for him.” 

The Trump administration alleged that the migrants sent to CECOT are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. (CBS News could not find U.S. criminal records in 75% of the cases, when it broadcast the “60 Minutes” story.)

In Hernández Romero’s case, the government argued in court that crown tattoos he had were evidence of gang affiliation. Hernández Romero has a crown tattoo on each wrist, with the words “Mom” and “Dad.” His hometown Capacho, Venezuela is known for its celebration of Epiphany, the Catholic holy day when three wise men visited Jesus Christ.

Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger told CBS News earlier this year that he was at the prison site when the migrants arrived, and that he heard a young man say, "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a stylist." He was crying for his mother while he was slapped and had his head shaved, Holsinger said.

Hernández Romero left Venezuela for the U.S. in May 2024, citing his political views and homosexuality as reasons to seek asylum. He had been detained at an immigration facility in San Diego since last year when he crossed the U.S.-Mexican border. Hernández Romero had a pre-arranged asylum hearing in San Diego at the time of his removal to El Salvador, according to reports.

Cleve Jones, a longtime Bay Area gay activist who co-founded the AIDS Memorial Quilt, was among those who called upon U.S. Pride organizations to name Hernández Romero an honorary grand marshal for this year’s parades to bring further attention to the case. San Francisco Pride declined to do so. Jones continued to call attention to the case, including a guest opinion piece in the B.A.R. last month.  
“I’m beyond grateful to know he is alive and it is my understanding he is going to be with his family, and I’m hoping this gives him time to heal from whatever he’s had to endure,” Jones said in a July 21 phone call. “I remain appalled by this situation. These are dangerous times.”

Hernández Romero was named an honorary grand marshal of Pride by the Beach, which took place last month in Oceanside, California, in San Diego County. Pride by the Beach officials didn’t immediately return a request for comment for this report.

National LGBTQ organizations expressed gratitude that Hernández Romero was released.

“The news of Andry’s release brings both relief and anger,” stated Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, a Black queer woman.

“This country has long been a beacon of hope and a safe harbor for those yearning for freedom,” Robinson stated. “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,” she added. “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.”

LGBTQ Agenda is an online column that appears weekly. Got a tip on queer news? Contact John Ferrannini at [email protected].