People "Disappeared" Under the Trump Regime

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

1 kid

Molina played soccer in Venezuela and ran a fast food truck with his girlfriend, but the couple fled to Colombia for political reasons. While in Colombia, they spent more than a year navigating the refugee process under a program created by former President Joe Biden, aimed at allowing people to apply for legal entry into the U.S. from abroad rather than arriving at the border. Molina was taken into custody on Jan. 8 at an airport in Houston after officers questioned his tattoos, which included a crown, a soccer ball and a forest, his girlfriend, Daniela Núñez, told us. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. He remained in detention until he was flown to El Salvador.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Married, 2 kids

Terán migrated from Chile to be near his father and stepmother and entered the U.S. lawfully with an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. He washed dishes at a pizza shop in Austin, Texas. His father, Juan Carlos Terán, told us they were planning his 19th birthday party when Terán was detained and later flown to El Salvador. He has a tattoo of a small cross that his father said he had got while in detention. It’s unclear if the tattoo played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records. On Feb. 19, Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement about his arrest, labeling him a Tren de Aragua member who was wanted for narcotics and weapons trafficking in Chile. In 2023, he faced charges as a minor in Chile for possession of an illegal weapon and trafficking of what Chilean court records called a small quantity of narcotics. In October 2024, a judge in Chile issued an order for his arrest after he didn’t show up at his court hearing. The outcome of that case is unclear, but court records show it is closed. His father said that he was 16 and had made a mistake, but that it didn’t mean he was a member of the Venezuelan gang.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist from Lebanon who previously worked and lived in Rhode Island, was deported this month, even though a federal judge ordered that she not be removed until a hearing could be held. Homeland Security officials said Alawieh was deported as soon as she returned to the U.S. from Lebanon, despite having a U.S. visa, because she “openly admitted” supporting former Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah. Alawieh told officers she followed him for his religious and spiritual teachings and not his politics, court documents said.

She was to start work at Brown University as an assistant professor of medicine. Stephanie Marzouk, Alawieh's lawyer, has said she will fight to get the 34-year-old doctor back to the U.S.

A new cable sent Tuesday from the State Department said that a refugee from Iraq, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, became the first person to be officially deported to Rwanda thanks to this arrangement.

The use of Rwanda as a third country for deportations has not been publicly disclosed by the country or the U.S. government.

Ríos entered the U.S. in 2023 through El Paso, Texas, where he met a U.S. citizen who eventually became his wife. Ríos was a barber and worked in construction, Angie Ríos, his wife, told us. A judge ordered Ríos deported after he’d failed to change his address with the federal government. He was detained by immigration officials in February at his home and flown to El Salvador. Before his deportation, Ríos told his wife that immigration officials asked about his tattoos, which include a rose on his neck. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He is not included in the U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Yánez, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, and the father of two, worked in Chile and Colombia before entering the U.S. via El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, according to his partner, Yulexi Katiana Silva. He worked as a day laborer in Brooklyn, mostly doing construction and painting work until he was detained during an immigration raid outside his house in January. His family was waiting for him to be deported to Venezuela when they found his name on the list of men sent to El Salvador first published by CBS News. His family said he has no tattoos.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Little public information is available about Torres’ life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Little public information is available about Batista’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. But court records show that he lived in the Chicago area since at least the summer of 2023. Almost two weeks before he was sent to El Salvador, an immigration court judge granted Batista his voluntary departure, which would have allowed him to pay for his own travel home to Venezuela, court records show. Please reach out if you have additional information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Batista as having a criminal conviction for larceny. We found records showing that he pleaded guilty in March 2024 to attempted theft in Perrysburg, Ohio. He also had two ongoing retail theft cases in Cook County, Illinois. He was arrested in December 2023 on a felony charge for allegedly taking more than $1,600 worth of items from a Burlington Coat Factory in suburban Chicago. Prosecutors dropped the case in June after the public defender’s office told the court Batista had been deported to El Salvador. A year later, he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge for allegedly taking less than $300 worth of items from a Marshall’s in downtown Chicago. No plea had been entered in either case. He was also ticketed in July 2023 for driving without a valid license or insurance and improper use of headlights. It’s unclear how those charges were resolved.

Made a declaration for ESPINOZA ESCALONA v. NOEM, 1:25-cv-00604, (D.D.C. Mar 01, 2025) to speak up for those in danger of being transferred to Guantánamo. Came to US with his son, who was very sick and needed medical help. The child, now one year old, now lives with the child's US citizen mother.

Scheduled for a Credible Fear Interview (CFI), but once there, the officer treated him as if he were a gang member because he was Venezuelan with tattoos and asked him questions about Tren de Aragua. ICE officers then successfully pressured him to sign a deportation document in English he could not read and refused to provide him a Spanish translation. Managed to get an attorney and request a new CFI, but was transferred to Guantánamo before he could attend the CFI or see a judge. Held in bad conditions at Guantánamo in an isolated cell. Kept asking to speak with loved ones and an attorney, but officers kept claiming phone access would come later and then never gave any phone access. Underfed. Saw other detainees be punished for suicidal behavior by deprivation of water. Saw other detainees be tied up in a chair to punish them for protesting conditions and asserting rights.

He says, 'When ICE arrived at Guantánamo, we asked them why we were transferred, and they told us we were criminals and would pay for our entire lives. Officers told us we were terrorists and would be treated as such. I am not a criminal or a terrorist. One officer told us that if it were up to him, he would shoot us and throw us in the water. After some time, one of the Spanish-speaking officers told us, 'none of you seem like terrorists.' However, the treatment did not get better after that. I suffer from nightmares due to my time at Guantánamo and I often feel like I'm shackled while awake even though I am no longer.'

Little public information is available about Sánchez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Little public information is available about Mora’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no court or police records. Venezuelan court records indicate he was arrested several times between 2005 and 2007 for various alleged offenses, including illegal possession of a firearm, robbery and resisting arrest. It’s unclear how those cases were resolved. He was also arrested in 2009 in the Venezuelan state of Falcón and charged with drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy. The 2009 case went to trial, and in 2013, he was found guilty of those charges and sentenced to eight years in prison, according to Venezuelan court records.

A former Marine says he feels “betrayed” by the U.S. after seeing a video on social media of his father being pinned to the ground and repeatedly punched by a federal immigration agent in Santa Ana on Saturday.

The post of the blows to his father also helped to spark a demonstration with dozens of protesters demanding the agents leave Santa Ana, as well as an online fundraiser to raise money for the man’s legal expenses.

Narciso Barranco, the 48-year-old landscaper who was seized off the street, has three sons who are U.S. Marines, including two on active duty, the oldest son, 25-year-old Alejandro Barranco, said in an interview on Sunday.

The two other sons are currently stationed at Camp Pendleton, he said.

“I feel betrayed,” Alejandro Barranco said. “My dad has no criminal history. He wasn’t doing anything bad. He was just working. The way they (federal agents) attacked him, I don’t think it’s right.”

His father was in the process of applying for a form of immigration called parole-in-place, which can grant family members of active-duty military who are without legal status permission to stay in the U.S. for a while, usually a year, and which can be extended, Alejandro Barranco said.

He said his father, who is undocumented, has lived in Orange County since the 1990s and owns a landscaping business. He has no criminal record, he said. An independent search of the local court system confirmed that.

On Sunday, Narciso Barranco was in a detention facility in Los Angeles, the son said.

A father of two girls, Reyes is a former professional soccer player who also coached children. He fled Venezuela after he was detained and tortured by authorities for participating in anti-government protests, according to a sworn declaration by his attorney, Linette Tobin. He fled Venezuela for the U.S. shortly after his release and entered the country in September 2024 with an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. He was immediately taken into custody. Reyes was awaiting an April hearing for his asylum claim in which a judge would decide whether he would be allowed to remain in the country. He was flown to El Salvador before he could attend. Among his tattoos is an image of a crown sitting atop a soccer ball, accompanied by a rosary and the word “Dios,” or God. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Reyes is one of the few men on this list whom the government commented publicly about. In a social media post, the Trump administration insists that it is confident in its intelligence and that his tattoos and social media indicated he is a Tren de Aragua member. He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records. His lawyer has said in court documents that immigration authorities flagged a social media photo of Reyes making a hand gesture she said commonly means “I love you” in sign language or is used as a rock and roll symbol.

Ramos left Venezuela in January 2024, hoping to provide a better life for his family and help cover the medical expenses of his 1-year-old son, who has respiratory issues, his wife, Roynerliz Rodríguez, told us. He secured an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. But he was taken into custody before he could enter the country. From inside a detention center, Ramos asked his wife to record a video call between the two of them because he feared he would be sent to Guantanamo, where other Venezuelans had been taken. During that call, Ramos told his wife he’d been given deportation orders indicating that he would be returned to Venezuela. “I haven’t committed any crimes. I haven’t even been inside this country. I was simply judged because of my tattoos,” he said in the video. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a crown and two stars, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Ramos was flagged as a Tren de Aragua member in a law enforcement database during his CBP One appointment. His family denies he has anything to do with the gang. His lawyers said in court records that U.S. authorities wrongly identified him as a gang member based on his tattoos and an “unsubstantiated” report from Panamanian officials. A spokesperson for the Panamanian security ministry said he could not locate any documents about Ramos.

Leal left Venezuela in 2017 with his mother and lived for a time in Peru, according to his father, Luis Leal. In 2023, he migrated to the U.S., crossing the border near Brownsville, Texas, and turned himself in to Border Patrol agents, his father said. Afterward, he went to live with his father and brother in Las Vegas. The family later moved to Dallas and then to Houston, where he worked in construction and cleaned air conditioning units, his father said. Leal was visiting his girlfriend’s family in New Jersey when he was detained during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at a gas station, according to his father. While in custody, he decided to drop his immigration case and return to Venezuela, saying he could no longer bear being detained, his mother, who has since returned to Venezuela, told us. His girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, agreed to go with him. She miscarried after Leal was imprisoned in El Salvador, his father said. It’s unclear if Leal’s tattoos, which included a clown-like figure, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Leal as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in August 2024, he was arrested for possession of meth, a felony, in Dallas County, Texas. We also found records showing that, in October, he was arrested and then charged with shoplifting clothing and other merchandise from a Walmart in Charlotte, North Carolina. The case was pending as of mid-June, and it’s not clear if he entered a plea. His father told us he didn’t know anything about a charge in North Carolina and noted that the address listed on the ticket for his son was incorrect. Neither case amounted to a crime worthy of sending his son to a prison in El Salvador, the father said.

Sánchez migrated to the U.S. in 2023 and was living in Dallas, according to El Pitazo, an independent Venezuelan news outlet. On March 14, he told his family that he was going to be deported to Venezuela. A day later, he was flown to El Salvador. According to photos on Sánchez’s social media account, his tattoos include a rose, an anchor, a star, a crown and a Super Mario Brothers figure. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists him as having a criminal conviction for larceny. We found records showing he pleaded guilty to stealing property worth between $30,000 and $150,000, a third-degree felony, in court in Collin County, Texas, and was sentenced in September to 10 years probation. He also was allegedly part of a group of people who stole vehicles, changed their VINs and created fraudulent titles to sell them, according to Plano Police Department records.

Little public information is available about Sánchez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Escobar’s sister told the Salvadoran news site El Salvador Now that her brother worked at a party planning company while he waited in Mexico for an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. Once Escobar was in the country, he worked at a travel agency in Calexico, California. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March, his family told the Venezuelan-based television network Telesur. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. On social media, relatives said he has tattoos but not what kind. It’s unclear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Escobar as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.

Little public information is available about López’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. other than that he had lived in Texas. Immigration court records also show he had a pending asylum application when he was flown to El Salvador. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists López as having a criminal conviction for assault. We found records showing that, in July 2024, he pleaded guilty in Denton County, Texas, to assaulting a family member, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to a year in jail and he received credit for time served.

[Neri Alvarado Borges] was detained by ICE outside his apartment in early February and brought in for questioning, Juan Enrique Hernández, the owner of two Venezuelan bakeries in the Dallas area and Alvarado's boss, told Mother Jones. One day later, Hernández went to see him in detention and asked him to explain what had happened. Alvarado told Hernández that an ICE agent had asked him if he knew why he had been picked up; Alvarado said that he did not. “Well, you're here because of your tattoos,” the ICE agent replied, according to Hernández. “We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.”

The agent then asked Alvarado to explain his tattoos and for permission to review his phone for any evidence of gang activity. “You're clean,” the ICE officer told Alvarado after he complied, according to both Hernández and María Alvarado. “I'm going to put down here that you have nothing to do with Tren de Aragua.”

For reasons that remain unclear, Hernández said that another official in ICE's Dallas field office decided to keep Alvarado detained. María Alvarado said her brother told her the same story at the time.

Martínez drove a taxi and sold scrap metal before migrating to the U.S. in December 2023 with his wife and baby daughter, his parents told the nonprofit Alliance for Global Justice. They crossed the border between ports of entry and turned themselves in to authorities near El Paso, Texas. Martínez was put on an ankle monitor and released to pursue an asylum claim. His wife remained in custody for about nine months before she was released. The family settled in Texas, where Martínez worked on a nut farm, at a mattress factory and in construction. He was detained during a traffic stop while on his way to his construction job in February, his parents said. During the traffic stop, a police officer asked about his tattoos and took him into custody. He has tattoos of the name of his wife and daughter, and religious tattoos including a cross on his forearm, according to a video interview and photos posted on social media. Martínez had an immigration court hearing scheduled for March 17, two days after he was sent to El Salvador and imprisoned.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Méndez worked as a bus fare collector in Venezuela but, as the country’s economy collapsed, he migrated to the U.S. in December 2023, his partner told us. He eventually settled in New Jersey, where he worked as a food delivery driver. In January, he was detained after the police pulled over a car he was riding in. Two months later, he was sent to El Salvador. A judge dismissed his immigration case on April 8, after he failed to appear at his hearing. Government attorneys acknowledged that he was no longer in the U.S. but said they had limited information about his whereabouts. His tattoos include a palm tree behind his right ear, a bracelet and a forest design below his elbow, and a series of initials on his neck representing the names of several people. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Becky Burke, 28, was repatriated to the U.K. on March 18, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Burke was previously detained by ICE at the Northwest ICE Processing Center related to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission,” an ICE spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States regardless of nationality.”

Burke was allegedly denied entry into Canada “due to an incorrect visa” on Feb. 26 and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, after trying to re-enter the U.S., her father Paul Burke wrote in a Facebook post earlier this month. The traveler, who is from Monmouthshire in Wales, was backpacking through North America at the time.

A former member of the Venezuela military, Morón also worked in agriculture and as a barber in his home country, his sister told us. He left in 2022 for Peru, then moved to Colombia, working odd jobs along the way to help support his mother and siblings. He was unable to secure an appointment with U.S. border officials via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. So he turned himself in to U.S. border authorities in El Paso, Texas, in May 2023. He was detained for months after U.S. officials alleged that his tattoos were gang related, according to his sister. Because the Venezuelan government wasn’t accepting deportees at the time, Morón was released last summer and moved to Washington state while the government figured out how to deport him. He worked as a bricklayer and delivery driver until he was detained by immigration officials in late January, days after President Donald Trump came into office. It’s unclear if his tattoos — which include at least two stars and a weapon on his right arm, as well as a crown and the iconic silhouette of Michael Jordan midjump on his neck — played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Lemus lived in the Chicago area and worked as a carpenter for about a year before he was detained and sent to El Salvador, his cousin told us. He has a wife and a stepdaughter. Before migrating to the U.S., he worked at his father’s beachside restaurant in Venezuela until his family closed it due to lack of tourism. Photos posted online show that he has a tattoo of a name on his arm. It’s unclear if it played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Lemus as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in November, he and a woman were arrested for attempting to steal clothing at a mall in Katy, Texas. He was charged in Fort Bend County, Texas, with property theft valued between $100 and $750, a misdemeanor. It’s not clear if the case has been resolved.

Moreno entered the U.S. in April 2023 near El Paso, Texas, according to a Department of Homeland Security document. He was living in Detroit with friends when he was detained by Border Patrol following a traffic stop in September 2024. An immigration judge ordered his deportation to Venezuela in December, but months later he was instead flown to El Salvador. Government records indicate he doesn’t have tattoos.

He is not included in U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records. In a court declaration, an immigration officer claimed Moreno had been arrested for alleged forgery and counterfeiting. Those charges were pending as of Feb. 26, 2025, the date the declaration was filed. In a court filing, a DHS official also stated Moreno had two active arrest warrants in Aragua, Venezuela, for three felony charges including theft of a vehicle, strong-arm robbery/hijacking of a vehicle and extortion. We found no related Venezuelan court or police records.

Lozano lived in Colombia before migrating to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor just before he turned 18. Once in the U.S., he lived in Houston, where he met his partner, Leslie Aranda, a U.S. citizen. She said Lozano received his work authorization card, but he mostly washed and detailed the cars of clients he found on Facebook. He lived with Aranda and her young daughter, whom she said he treated like his own, even tattooing her name on his arm. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which also include a rose and crown over his niece’s name, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. A 2024 legal settlement barred authorities from deporting Lozano and other unaccompanied minors in the middle of their asylum processes.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Lozano as having a criminal conviction for dangerous drugs. We found records showing that, in January, Lozano pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge in Harris County, Texas. Aranda said she expected Lozano would face consequences for his drug charges, and she had resigned herself to his possible deportation to Venezuela. “He’s no different than anyone else who commits a crime,” she told us. “But what I’m not OK with is this whole process of him being sent to El Salvador.”

Sierra lived in Dallas, where he worked in landscaping, according to VTV, a Venezuelan state-run television station. His family told the station that he was detained by immigration officials in January. His grandmother, Marcela Álvarez, said he called her from a detention center in Laredo, Texas, on March 15. “Mamá, I’m heading to the airport. I’m leaving for Venezuela,” he told her. “He was happy,” Álvarez told Venezuelan news outlets. He has a tattoo of his mother’s name, according to Álvarez. It’s unclear if his tattoo played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Hernández and his brother left Venezuela for the U.S. in May 2023, their mother told us. His goal, like his brother’s, was to work in the U.S. and earn enough money to build a house for his family and start a business back home. He entered the U.S. in August 2023 and turned himself in to authorities. He and his brother lived in Denver and then moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Hernández worked as a DoorDash delivery driver. His girlfriend and young son, who has autism, later joined him. He and his brother were detained by immigration authorities in February at a party to make a music video, along with a group of other Venezuelan men. His mother said he doesn’t have any tattoos.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Hernández as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that in December, he was charged with driving with a fake license plate and no driver’s license in Wake County, North Carolina. His mother told us she was unaware of her son having any encounters with police, besides a parking violation. It’s unclear if the case has been resolved.

California State University Channel Islands is calling for the immediate release of one of their professors who was detained during a protest on Thursday.

The demonstration sprung up while federal officials conducted a raid at a Glass House Farms marijuana grow facility in Camarillo, not far from the CSUCI campus.

At some point during the protest – which saw tear gas being deployed and dozens being handcuffed – Professor Jonathan Anthony Caravello was detained and taken from the scene.

Per a social media post published Friday by the California Faculty Association, Professor Caravello was “kidnapped” by federal agents who didn’t provide any information to demonstrators.

Aray lived in the Dallas area in early 2024 and has a tattoo of writing on his neck, records show. It’s unclear if it played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Little other public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Aray as having a criminal conviction for larceny. We found records showing a misdemeanor shoplifting charge in Texas from February 2024, after he was accused of stealing four perfumes valued in total between $100 and $750 from Macy’s. Aray was transferred into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on the day of his arrest, according to his attorney, who told us he never met his client. The attorney asked a judge to dismiss the case the day after a ProPublica reporter told him his client had been deported to El Salvador. The judge granted his request and dismissed the case.

Before coming to the U.S., Escalona was a farmworker in Colombia, growing rice, plantains and yuca, his brother-in-law, who worked with him, told us. “He’s very responsible,” his brother-in-law said. “He helped his mother a lot.” One of six siblings, Escalona lived in the U.S. for about two years with his partner and two stepdaughters. He worked in construction in Chicago, his family members told us. He was detained while traveling to Canada with his family. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a cross, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He is not included in the U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no U.S. related court or police records. While in Venezuela in March 2013, Escalona and four other adults were charged with aggravated theft, criminal conspiracy and use of a minor to commit a crime after they were caught inside the Fuerte Tiuna military complex. They were also accused of stealing electrical cables from state property. A Venezuelan judge ordered him to pretrial detention in May 2013 and denied an appeal that alleged a lack of evidence and due process violations. We couldn’t locate additional information. Escalona’s sister confirmed that he was involved with this incident. She said he served his time and turned his life around, maintaining a clean record in Venezuela and Colombia since then.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Francisco Javier Garcia Casique, one of the hundreds of Venezuelans deported by the Donald Trump administration over the weekend, has no criminal record in either the United States or his country of origin, his family has insisted.

Casique, 24, was reportedly among the 238 people believed to have connections with the notorious Tren de Aragua criminal gang that were taken to El Salvador as part of an agreement between Trump and the country's president Nayib Bukele on Saturday.

Before migrating to the U.S. in December 2023, García worked as a barber in Peru. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him last year after a routine check-in because of his tattoos, his brother told us. A judge then ordered his deportation, but he was released with an ankle monitor because Venezuela was not accepting deportees at the time, The Washington Post reported. He was picked up again by ICE in February. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a rose, a crown and the names of some relatives, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. The Department of Homeland Security told the Texas television station KLTV that García was “a public safety threat” and “a confirmed member of the Tren de Aragua gang.” His brother told us he would better understand García’s deportation to a Salvadoran prison “if he had killed somebody, if he had harmed somebody.” But, he added, “he doesn’t have a record. He’s never been in jail before.”

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Quintero is a former member of the Venezuelan military who, like his father, later worked as a fisherman, his sister told us; he also worked as a carpenter. He has two children who live in Venezuela. Before moving to the U.S., he lived in Chile and Colombia. He turned himself in to immigration officials in Texas in April 2024 and was released to continue his immigration case. He was later detained during a routine check-in with immigration officials in North Carolina, according to his sister. His tattoos include the name of his mother, a figure of the iconic silhouette of Michael Jordan midjump and a matching crown he got with his partner. It’s unclear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. He was ordered deported to Venezuela in immigration court in September 2024, according to court documents and his attorney, Rebecca Cassler, from the American Immigration Council.

He is not included in the U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Peñaloza worked fixing refrigerators — a job he’d learned from his father — in Venezuela and later in Chile, where he moved as a teenager, his mother told us. Peñaloza returned to Venezuela to surprise his sister for her quinceañera, her 15th birthday party, and stayed there for another year until he came to the U.S. His mother said she had discouraged him from going, but he insisted: “We have to take advantage and go now, before Donald Trump wins because later they won’t let us in,” he told her. He hoped to get a job to help support his mother and his sister, who couldn’t afford college. Peñaloza entered the U.S. in September 2024 with an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Peñaloza then moved to North Carolina, where he had friends. He worked as an Uber driver and in landscaping, and had applied for a work permit. His tattoos include a rosary and the silhouette of a woman, though it’s unclear if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. He was detained by immigration authorities in February at a party to make a music video, along with a group of other Venezuelan men.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Peñaloza as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that police in Raleigh, North Carolina, cited him in October 2024 for driving without a license and speeding. His mother said that she was unaware of the tickets, but that her son had never been arrested. “He’s never been associated with any crime,” she said. “He was raised with values and principles.” It’s unclear how the charges were resolved.

Yunseo Chung is a Columbia student and lawful U.S. resident who has lived in the country since moving to America from Korea as a child. Earlier this month, Chung attended and was arrested at a sit-in at nearby Barnard College protesting the expulsion of students who had participated in pro-Palestinian activism.

The Department of Homeland Security in seeking to deport her has said Chung “engaged in concerning conduct,” including being arrested on a misdemeanor charge. A judge ordered immigration agents not to detain Chung while her legal challenge is pending.

Perozo is a father who worked as a barber in Dallas, his mother said on social media. He was detained by immigration officials on March 14 while at work. His mother said she relied on her son for financial support. Perozo’s relatives have said that he has tattoos, though not what kind. It’s unclear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained does not list Perozo as having criminal convictions or pending charges. We couldn’t locate any court or police records.

Emerson Colindres was a star soccer player at Gilbert A Dater high school, had no criminal record and was attending a regularly scheduled appointment with Immigration and Customers Enforcement (Ice) in Cincinnati when he was detained on 4 June. It was mere days after his graduation from Dater.

Colindres’s family came to the US with him without documentation in 2014, requesting asylum in connection with claims of being targeted by gang activity in Honduras. Their asylum application was denied, and a judge issued a final removal order for him and his family in 2023.

Cedeño grew up in Valencia, Venezuela, where he did decorative plasterwork with his father, his mother told us. He migrated to the U.S. in 2023, traveling through the treacherous Darién jungle into Central America and then Mexico, and then waited for an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Cedeño entered the country in April 2023 and, according to court records, lived in Chicago before moving to North Carolina. He worked in masonry and as an Uber driver and planned to move to Orlando and start a business, his mother told us. He was detained by immigration authorities in February at a party to make a music video, along with a group of other Venezuelan men. On the morning of March 15, he called his mother and said: “God is protecting us. They are taking us to Venezuela.” Instead, they were flown to El Salvador. Cedeño has three children. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. According to his mother, Cedeño has no tattoos.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Cedeño as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was charged with driving without a license and without insurance in Chicago in January 2024. He was also charged with driving with no license and no insurance and failing to stop at a red light in Wake County, North Carolina, in May 2024. It’s not clear how those cases were resolved. His mother told us in an interview that she had no previous knowledge of those charges.

Rivero left Venezuela in hopes of providing a better life for his young son, his mother said in an interview with the Venezuelan news outlet Noticias Oriente. He has tattoos, according to photos on social media, but it’s unclear what type or if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua. Little other public information is available about Rivero. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Rivero as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.

Bolívar left Valencia, Venezuela, in search of a “better future,” his mother, Silvia Cruz, told us. He crossed the treacherous Darién jungle into Central America with his wife and his then-5-year-old son, entering the U.S. from Mexico in April 2022. The family surrendered to authorities and asked for asylum, immediately moving to New York. In 2024, Bolívar moved alone to Dallas, where he was a food delivery driver. He was arrested in December. A judge ordered his deportation in early March, and he expected to be sent to Venezuela, his mother said. Bolívar has a number of tattoos that include images of Jesus, a lion, a serpent, the names of relatives, roses, a clock, a rosary and an alien. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. His mother, who is a tattoo artist in Venezuela, said her son “grew up in that world.”

U.S. government data we obtained lists Bolívar as having a criminal conviction related to “public peace.” According to his partner, Kissmar Tamma, Bolívar had been ticketed for driving without a licence in Lewisville, Texas. We found records for a case in December, when he was charged with possession of less than 1 gram of methamphetamine, a felony. It’s unclear if he entered a plea or how the case was resolved based on the records we were able to obtain. His mother told us that she wasn’t aware of any drug charges. “He told me that they asked him if he could pay for a ticket to Venezuela and he said that he could,” she said. “But they sent him to El Salvador anyway.”

Little public information is available about Colina’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. But records show that he entered between ports of entry in November 2023. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Colina as having a criminal conviction for an immigration offense, and federal court records show that he pleaded guilty to “improper entry by an alien,” a misdemeanor, in November 2023.

Fonseca entered the U.S. in October 2023 and found construction work in Texas, according to an article in Diario Vea, a Venezuelan news outlet. He posted a video of himself on TikTok cutting metal with a saw in a warehouse and another thanking former President Joe Biden for “giving us the opportunity to enter this beautiful country.” He has one young daughter in Venezuela whom he supported financially. Fonseca was on his way to work in late January when he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his mother told Diario Vea. His tattoos include a rose, a gun and a star, according to photos on his TikTok profile and law enforcement records, but it’s unclear if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Fonseca as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was arrested in January 2025 in Frisco, Texas, for possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana, a misdemeanor. It’s unclear if the case was resolved.

Lewelyn Dixon was on her way back to the Seattle area on Feb. 28 after visiting family in the Philippines when she was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sent to the immigration detention facility in Tacoma.

Her lawyer Benjamin Osorio said she was detained because of a non-violent conviction from 2001, for embezzlement. At the time, she was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house and a $6,400 fine; she received no jail or prison time, he told KUOW.

Dixon is a lab technician at UW Medicine and has a green card. She's 64 years old and has lived in the U.S. since she was 14.

Dixon was released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, after a judge ruled that she does not qualify for deportation.

University of Alabama student Alireza Doroudi was detained by ICE on Tuesday, the university confirmed. The Crimson White, the student newspaper, said Doroudi was detained, but neither the university nor the newspaper explained why he is in ICE custody.

David Rozas, a lawyer representing Doroudi, said in an email that Doroudi is being detained in Alabama but he believes Doroudi will be moved to an immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana. Doroudi is a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering, Rozas said. Doroudi said he isn't aware of any suspected criminal activity or violations of his lawful status.

Dylan, 20, fled his home country last year and turned himself in at the U.S. border in April 2024 through a Biden-era entry program. He requested asylum and was permitted to enter the country while he awaited a court date, allowing him to obtain a work permit and driver's learner permit, according to his lawyers and his mom, Raiza.

The arrest has sent shockwaves through ELLIS Prep, the tight-knit Bronx high school Dylan attends, and is the first known example of a current New York City public school student detained by ICE during Trump's second administration, according to several immigration advocates and educators.

In the five days since he was detained on May 21, Dylan, who suffers from severe stomach issues, has been shuttled between four different states — New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, according to his lawyers and mom.

A Danish man living in Mississippi for a dozen years has been imprisoned in Louisiana for more than a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took him into custody because of a “paperwork miscommunication” during his effort to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, his wife says.

Kasper Juul Eriksen, now 32, left his home in Aalborg, Denmark, as a teenager in 2009 and spent a year in the U.S. as a high school exchange student in Starkville, Mississippi.

He and a local teenager, Savannah Hobart, fell in love. After he returned to Denmark's fourth-largest city, he and Savannah maintained their relationship for four years, across an ocean and seven time zones.

Kasper immigrated to the U.S. in 2013 and got work as a welder – a job he has held steadily since then. He and Savannah married in 2014 and settled outside Starkville in the tiny town of Sturgis, soon starting a family.

For years, Kasper went through the process of trying to become a U.S. citizen, and Savannah Eriksen – now homeschooling their children and pregnant with their fifth baby, due in August – said her husband's move toward citizenship appeared to be on track. He received notice last September that his naturalization application was being reviewed, and records from the U.S. government raised no questions about his paperwork, Savannah said.

Kasper and Savannah Eriksen went to Memphis, Tennessee, on April 15 so he could be interviewed about naturalization, and she said they were met by ICE agents.

“Kasper was detained for a paperwork miscommunication from 2015, and I was sent home with no explanation and no idea where my husband had been transported,” Savannah Eriksen said in a statement she released late Monday to Mississippi Today.

Made a declaration for ESPINOZA ESCALONA v. NOEM, 1:25-cv-00604, (D.D.C. Mar 01, 2025) to speak up for those in danger of being transferred to Guantánamo. Asylum-seeker, unable to afford attorney. Detained and transferred to Guantanamo before he could attend his court hearing. Locked in isolation in cold conditions. So badly underfed he lost ten pounds in just a few days. Unable to sleep. Never given chance to call family or attorney. Transferred back to US when case reopened.

Little public information is available about Montero’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Jon Luke Evans, of Jamaica, was arrested by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston (ERO Boston) in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives on Friday, July 25, in Biddeford, according to a news release.

Evans was a reserve police officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department at the time of his arrest, ICE said.

He reportedly told officers that he tried to buy a firearm for his employment as a police officer.

ICE stated that Evans lawfully entered the U.S. on September 24, 2023, but had overstayed his visa. He was scheduled to leave the U.S. on October 1, 2023, according to the release.

Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard shared in a statement that the tment was notified of Evans' arrest on Friday.

Chard said that Evans was hired by the department in May as a summer reserve officer and was required to complete an I-9 federal immigration and work authorization form to verify that he was legally authorized to work in the U.S. as a part of its hiring process.

The Department of Homeland Security verified that Evans was authorized to work in the U.S., according to Chard.

"Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status," Chard said.

Evans' employment authorization document reportedly wasn't set to expire until March 2030.

Núñez worked as a fisherman and construction worker in Venezuela before coming to the U.S. in August 2023. He settled in Detroit, where he took construction jobs and shoveled snow, according to the Colombian newspaper La Opinión. He was detained in December 2024 while holiday shopping, his wife told the newspaper. She said an officer asked him to lift up his shirt and took him into custody after seeing his tattoos, which include a rose and a clock. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Married, 2 kids

Fernández left Venezuela to meet his sister in Colombia, his mother told us. From there, they journeyed through the treacherous Darién jungle into Central America and then through Mexico to the U.S. After entering the country in December 2023, he worked in construction in Dallas. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March at his home, along with two friends. All three were sent to El Salvador. His mother said Fernández has tattoos, though she was unsure what kind. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Fernández has four daughters in Venezuela.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records. “He never got into any trouble,” his mother told us.

Petit migrated to the U.S. from Colombia. He had an appointment with border officials made via the CBP One app, according to a video his family posted on Facebook, which does not specify the date. The app was used by the Biden administration to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. A father and husband, he was saving money to help cover the cost of his own father’s surgery, relatives said on social media. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February. Petit had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which included a small star on his ankle, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Mata migrated in 2018 from Venezuela to Colombia, where he lived for five years until he left for the U.S. to be with his only daughter. His sister, María José Higuera de Rodríguez, told us he came lawfully with an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. He initially moved to New York but struggled to find a job. He’d always worked in construction, his mother and sister told us. He made his way to Nashville, Tennessee, where a friend told him there were jobs available. He had a variety of tattoos, including his name and his daughter’s name, a Mickey Mouse figure and an alien. His sister said he was practicing how to tattoo himself to learn the trade. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained. According to a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department news release in January, he was charged with promoting prostitution, felony marijuana possession and evading arrest. Davidson County, Tenneessee, court records show those charges were dismissed later that month. His family said that he was detained by immigration officials once his criminal case concluded and that he’d signed a deportation order back to Venezuela. “If his charges no longer exist, why lie?” Higuera de Rodríguez said. “He was investigated, he signed his deportation, why send him over there?”

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Silva worked in construction, as a waiter and at a popcorn stand while in Venezuela and then at a call center in Colombia, where he and his family had relocated in 2016. “What didn’t Carlos Julio do?” his mother told us. Silva later migrated to the U.S., where he hoped to earn enough money to help support his mother. In July 2024, he texted his mom excitedly after completing an interview at his appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. A half hour later, he was detained after staff at the facility asked for Venezuelans to identify themselves, his mother told us. He remained in detention until he was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned. He had a pending asylum application at the time, according to our analysis of immigration court data. Silva has tattoos covering his back, arms and neck, including one that says “Gangsta” in cursive lettering on the back of his neck and a colorful illustration featuring two women’s faces and a flower covering his entire back. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. The morning of March 15, Silva told his mom that an immigration official had ripped up his asylum case paperwork and told him, “Where you’re going, you won’t need these.”

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

[T]he family hasn't heard from Alicia's father, Alirio Guillermo Belloso Fuenmayor, since March 14, the day before deportation flights carried Venezuelans from the United States not to their home country but instead to El Salvador. There they were immediately incarcerated in one of the country's notorious prisons.

Briceño said the family gathered at her husband's mother's house two days later to prepare for his arrival home. They were all excited to have him back, she said.

Then they heard the news of the flight to El Salvador. On television, they thought they saw someone who looked like Belloso Fuenmayor among the men being moved from the plane to the Salvadoran prison, Briceño said, but they decided it wasn't him. They searched online for more images and, to their horror, confirmed that he was among the 238 sent there by the Trump administration despite a judge's order to halt the deportations.

Belloso migrated to the U.S. in 2023 and worked as a DoorDash delivery driver in Utah, according to Capital and Main. His wife told us he was arrested during an immigration raid at a gas station and requested to be returned to Venezuela. It’s unclear if Belloso’s tattoos, which include a clock and the names of relatives, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained. We found that he had received a speeding ticket in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

Suárez came to the U.S. in 2023 in part to earn money to help pay off debt from his sister’s spinal surgery, his mother, Karlyn Fuentes, told us. He started out in New York, where he got a job making deliveries on a bike, and later went to Colorado, where he worked as a painter. He eventually moved to Pennsylvania, where his mother said he was detained in late February during a traffic stop and charged with driving without a license. He was released after a court hearing but then was detained by immigration officials and taken to a detention center in Texas. Suárez has two tattoos, one on his neck that says “God’s son” in Spanish and a prayer on his torso, his mother said. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Suárez as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that in June 2024 he was charged with driving with no license, no insurance and unlawful license plates in Adams County, Colorado. Three months later, the charges were dismissed and the case was closed.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the government to immediately halt deportation proceedings against the family of a man charged in the firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, to ensure the protection of the family’s constitutional rights.

U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted a request from the wife and five children of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who are Egyptian, to block their deportation. U.S. immigration officials took the family into custody Tuesday.

Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his planned attack, according to court documents. El Gamal said she was “shocked” to learn her husband had been arrested in the attack, according to her lawsuit.

Made a declaration for ESPINOZA ESCALONA v. NOEM, 1:25-cv-00604, (D.D.C. Mar 01, 2025) to speak up for those in danger of being transferred to Guantánamo. Venezuelan. In Venezuela, detained, beaten and permanently scarred to punish him for participating in a protest. Fled Venezuela for Colombia and lived there for a decade, but then criminal groups began to extort him. Came to US to seek asylum.

Detained on arrival. Told initial interview was positive, but still held. After judge ordered him deported, officers forced him onto plane to Guantánamo.

He says, 'I tried to ask where we were going and requested to speak with my attorney. Instead of responding, the officers grabbed me roughly by the neck, slammed me against the bus, and signaled to me to stay quiet. Then, without warning, I was loaded onto a military plane with other detainees. No one told us where we were going. We were strapped down in the plane, so that even in the case of an emergency we would not be able to escape. It was only after landing that an officer announced we were in Guantánamo. He said ICE was figuring out how to deport us, and if that was not possible, we would stay there indefinitely. He told us the orders came from above and that there was nothing we could do.'

'When I asked for a lawyer, I was told that there were no plans to take us out and that we would remain in Guantánamo for as long as they wanted. There was a sign posted to the entrance of the area where they did our intake that said that we would remain in Guantanamo for however long necessary.'

Denied appropriate medical care for asthma, throat pain, headaches, rashes. Saw another man denied care for hypertension. Saw another man given inappropriate medical care for hallucinations. Saw another man given no care for suicide attempt.

Ortega worked in construction and as a welder, trades he learned from working with his father and uncles from an early age, his aunt, Fidelia Ortega García, told us. He migrated to Colombia in 2020, but three years later decided to leave for the U.S. in hopes of earning enough money to support his two children, she said. Ortega, his partner, their daughter and other family members turned themselves in to Border Patrol agents in Texas in 2023 to claim asylum, and they moved to New York while they awaited resolution of their immigration cases. He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to work in construction. Within three months, he was detained during a raid at a home that authorities say was being used as a brothel. His aunt said he has several tattoos, including his grandparents’ names and the dates they died, his sister’s face and a clown. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained. In a January press release, Nashville Metropolitan Police said that he had been charged with felonies for promoting prostitution, possession of marijuana and possession of “Tusi,” a combination of cocaine, ecstasy, fentanyl and other drugs. He was also charged with a misdemeanor for evading arrest. Court records show that all charges were dismissed later that month. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the criminal case concluded and told his family he was going to be sent to Venezuela. He was instead flown to El Salvador. “He is not a criminal,” Ortega García said. “He is a good son, a good brother, a good father. He is a beautiful person.”

After graduating from high school, Cedeño moved to Chile with his mother and brother, according to Crónica Uno, an independent Venezuelan news organization. He migrated to the U.S. in 2022 and obtained temporary protected status, which allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. He was an UberEats delivery driver and hoped to launch a cosmetics sales business. Cedeño’s tattoos include a wolf and his grandmother’s name, but it’s unclear if they played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Cedeño as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

3 kids

Briceño worked in construction in the U.S. alongside his brother, José Gregorio Briceño González, and a cousin, Jonathan Alejandro Mendoza Ramírez. All three were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported to El Salvador, relatives said in a video posted on Instagram. He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Hernández was studying to become a police officer in Venezuela but dropped out three months before graduation after breaking his clavicle in a motorcycle accident. He moved to Colombia from Venezuela about three years ago and worked at a furniture company and later at a factory that made cigars and cigarettes, according to the independent Venezuelan news outlet El Pitazo. In November 2024, he migrated to the U.S. with his partner and was immediately taken into custody. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include a palm tree and a map, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. His sister told the news outlet the tattoos represented his Caribbean roots and served as a reminder of how to stay on the right path in life.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Paz worked as a barber in Venezuela, Colombia and the U.S., according to his sister, Greilys Herrera. He is the father of two sons, ages 1 and 11. He left Colombia for the U.S. in 2022, seeking financial stability, Herrera said. Paz settled in Dallas, where he lived with his cousin and a friend. He obtained a work permit and Social Security card. On March 13, immigration officials came to his home and detained him along with a cousin and friend. Two days later, he was deported to El Salvador. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include stars, an anchor and a lion’s face, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Hoping to give his 2-year-old son a better life, Rivera migrated to the U.S., his sister Yuraima Rivera told us. He left Colombia, where he was living, in March 2024 and waited in Mexico until he secured an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app two months later, she said. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Rivera was immediately detained. On March 14, he told his family that he was being sent back to Venezuela, but the flight had been delayed due to bad weather. Instead, the following day he was flown to El Salvador. His sister said he has several tattoos, including his child’s date of birth, a clock and an anchor. It’s unclear if those tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Travieso was a barber who left Venezuela in search of a better life, his family said in a short video posted on social media. Otherwise, little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include an angel and other images that are not clear in the photos the family has shared on social media, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Izaguirre was living in Colorado before being deported to El Salvador. Otherwise, little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Izaguirre as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in January 2024, he was arrested in Denver after he allegedly lifted his jacket multiple times to reveal a handgun tucked into his jeans during a dispute with two women. A judge found it was an act of domestic violence and prohibited him from possessing firearms and ordered him not make contact with the victims. That same month, the order of protection was canceled and no charges were filed. The office of the Colorado State Public Defender cited privacy concerns in declining to comment on the case.

A Spanish-language journalist known for documenting immigration raids could face deportation proceedings after police arrested him on charges of obstructing officers and unlawful assembly as he was covering a weekend protest outside Atlanta.

Mario Guevara, who fled El Salvador two decades ago and built a large following as an independent journalist covering immigration in the Atlanta area, was broadcasting live on social media Saturday at a protest in DeKalb County when officers arrested him.

The video shows Guevara standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, filming police in riot gear walking through a parking lot, before he stepped into the street as officers approached.

“I’m a member of the media, officer,” Guevara tells a police officer right before he’s arrested. The video shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with “PRESS” printed across his chest.

Guevara was jailed in DeKalb County, which includes parts of Atlanta, on charges of obstructing police, unlawful assembly and improperly entering a roadway. His attorney, Giovanni Diaz, said a judge granted Guevara bond on Monday, but he was kept in jail after Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an extra 48-hour hold on him.

According to his father, the agents initially acknowledged he was not the individual they were seeking—but chose to detain him anyway.

Just days later, Gutiérrez was deported to El Salvador, where he was transferred to a high security prison known for housing members of violent gangs, including the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

His family and attorneys say he has no criminal record, no gang affiliations, and "not even a tattoo," which authorities often use to profile alleged gang members.

Bracho came to the U.S. in October 2023 in hopes of earning enough money to better support his four children, his mother and his grandmother, who has various health problems, according to his mother, María Gómez. He lived in New York and Texas, though he often traveled for his work painting houses and buildings. He also worked as a food delivery driver and mechanic on the side. He was detained in November during a routine immigration appointment, his mother told us. Bracho had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. He has tattoos on his arms and torso, including three stars, an illustration of a father and two sons symbolizing his family, the Virgin Mary, and the names of his mother and grandmother. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Little public information is available about Méndez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Méndez as having a criminal conviction for larceny. We found records showing that he and another person were arrested on Halloween 2023 for attempting to steal $2,832.50 in fragrances at a Macy’s in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He was charged with burglary, retail theft over $300, operating an uninsured vehicle and having no valid license. In September 2024, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three and a half years in state prison.

An Indonesian father of an infant with special needs, who was detained by federal agents at his hospital workplace in Minnesota after his student visa was secretly revoked, will remain in custody after an immigration judge ruled on Thursday that his case can proceed.

Judge Sarah Mazzie denied a motion to dismiss the case against Aditya Wahyu Harsono on humanitarian grounds, according to his attorney. Harsono, 33, was arrested four days after his visa was revoked without notice. He is scheduled for another hearing on 1 May.

“His wife has been in a state of shock and exhaustion,” Sarah Gad, Harsono's lawyer, said. “The Department of Homeland Security has weaponized the immigration system to serve just an entirely different purpose, which is to instill fear.”

19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, a New Mexico resident visiting Arizona, was detained by border patrol agents in Nogales, a city along the Mexico border about an hour south of Tucson.

According to a border patrol criminal complaint, on 8 April, a border patrol official found Hermosillo “without the proper immigration documents” and claimed that the young American had admitted entering the US illegally from Mexico. Two days later, the federal court document notes that Hermosillo continued to claim he was a US citizen. On 17 April, a federal judge dismissed his case.

Before coming to the U.S., Hernández spent some time in Colombia, Chile and Peru, where he worked as a street vendor and taxi driver, relatives told us. The father of three children made the trek to the U.S. in 2022 on foot with several members of his family, including his mother, partner and daughter, who was 4 at the time. They entered the U.S. between ports of entry, without turning themselves in to authorities to seek asylum, making him an undocumented immigrant. The family first settled in Denver and then in Texas, where Hernández worked as a car mechanic. They later moved to Cleveland, where he was detained last fall. His tattoos include a rose, clock, birds and the names of relatives. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained does not list Hernández as having criminal convictions or pending charges. We found no criminal record in the U.S., but Peruvian media reports say Hernández was arrested in 2020 on allegations that he’d participated in an armed robbery. His family told us he was wrongly arrested and immediately released. Records in Peru couldn’t be located, and police sources told us Hernández has no criminal record.

Jerez and his family first migrated from Venezuela to Colombia, where they lived for several years before the family moved to New York. He obtained temporary protected status, which allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S., a family friend in New York told us. After several months, he moved to Aurora, Colorado, to be with his partner and worked as a day laborer. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in late January during a raid at his apartment complex, two weeks after his partner gave birth to their daughter. Jerez has tattoos on his chest, neck, shoulders and arms, including a row of stars, a cross and an angel holding a rifle and a money bag, according to online photos and our interviews. It’s unclear if those tattoos played into the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

2 kids

A father of three, Mogollon was living in South Carolina when he signed a deportation order that was supposed to send him to Venezuela, according to family members’ social media posts. Other than that he lived for a time in Colombia, little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Mogollon as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that he was arrested by South Carolina’s highway patrol in November 2024 for several traffic-related infractions, including driving without a license and insurance. He pleaded guilty in January to those charges. According to Colombian news reports, he was arrested in that country in 2021 over a gambling scam, a fact confirmed by a source from the Colombian Judicial Police. It’s unclear how the case was resolved.

The Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) issued a statement Friday that the labor union's president, David Huerta, was detained during the ICE raids across Los Angeles.

The labor union is calling for the release of Huerta, who they say was injured during the federal agency's operations. Huerta was released from the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries, but remains in custody.

“What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger. This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that’s happening. Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice. And we all have to stand on the right side of justice," said Huerta.

Mayor Karen Bass confirmed to NBC4 that the labor union president was under ICE detention and he was also pepper-sprayed.

"He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated," said Bass. "He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon."

Plaintiff in J.G.G. v. TRUMP, 1:25-cv-00766, (D.D.C.), class action to fight removals under the Alien Enemies Act.

Venezuelan man 'seeking asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection because he fears being killed, arbitrarily imprisoned, beaten and tortured by Venezuelan police since they have done so previously to him.' ICE decided he was a Tren de Aragua member because of his tattoos. He is a tattoo artist. While awaiting asylum hearing, tricked into signing documents in English by being told he was being released and signing them was necessary to receive his property. Instead, ICE transferred him to El Valle Detention Center.

Judge Boasberg has imposed a temporary restraining order preventing Plaintiffs' deportation for now. The government disobeyed this order with regards to unnamed class Plaintiffs, renditioning them to CECOT in El Salvador, but has not yet done so to J.G.G. or the four other named Plaintiffs.

It's been a month since a young woman named YD last spoke with her partner, Yeison Rodrigo Jaimes-Rincon.

YD, a 33-year-old Venezuelan migrant living in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood, spends her days scrolling through her phone. She hopes to hear news from her partner, wishing he could meet their newborn son.

Elista ran a small business selling fish near the ocean in Venezuela, his wife told us. But the job was getting dangerous; a group of men regularly demanded that Elista pay extortion fees to run his business and threatened the family with violence, she said. A few years ago, Elista was stabbed in the arm when he refused to pay the extortion, his wife said. After that incident, he and his wife and their young son moved to Colombia. (Elista also has a daughter from a previous relationship.) The family migrated to the U.S. in 2023, traveling through the treacherous Darién jungle into Central America and eventually making it to Mexico. That August, they crossed into the U.S. illegally at El Paso, Texas, turned themselves in to border agents and asked for asylum, his wife said. They were released with paperwork for a court date, and they settled in Aurora, Colorado. There, Elista worked as a DoorDash driver and did odd jobs he picked up standing in a Home Depot parking lot. Eventually, he got hired at a remodeling company. He and a cousin were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late January. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. His wife said he also had a work permit. Elista’s tattoos include a crown, owl, flowers and a clock. It’s unclear if the tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He is not flagged as having a criminal conviction or pending charges in U.S. government data we obtained. According to La Verdad de Vargas, a Venezuelan news outlet, he was arrested in December 2014 after allegedly injuring a fruit vendor during an attempted robbery. Court records show that Elista was sentenced to more than six years in prison. A judge later reduced his sentence. His wife said that she was unaware that he had been arrested, but that it may have occurred before they got together. “As far as I understand, he’s never had any kind of problems,” she said.

Hernández is from Maracaibo, Venezuela, according to a post on social media, but otherwise little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Hernández as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was arrested in February 2024 in Cook County, Illinois, on misdemeanor assault and battery charges. The case was pending at the time he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported to El Salvador, when he was imprisoned. No plea had been entered.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopped Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, 38, while he was driving his child to Guidepost Montessori school on July 15.

The arrest marked the first confirmed immigration enforcement action outside of an Oregon school. Until earlier this year, federal policy prohibited immigration officials from making arrests near certain locations such as schools, houses of worship and hospitals.

OPB obtained edited video clips showing the arrest from Khanbabazadeh’s family. OPB authenticated the footage before publishing it and is using Khanbabazadeh’s name with his family’s permission.

One video from inside the vehicle blurred the faces of Khanbabazadeh and his child, who was in the backseat. It was recorded at 8:17 a.m., according to a timestamp on the video.

“Daddy, police!” the child said from a carseat as officers told the man to roll his window down further.

“Yeah, that’s police,” Khanbabazadeh replied as he retrieved his identification for the officers.

“Where are you headed?” one of the ICE officers asked.

“Day care,” Khanbabazadeh replied.

In another clip from the same video, recorded around 8:32 a.m., the father implores the officers to delay their arrest.

“There is a baby in the car,” Khanbabazadeh said. “Is it hard to wait for three minutes?”

A clip taken from the same dashboard camera shows ICE officers smashing the driver’s side window of the car after the child has left the vehicle. Khanbabazadeh tells the officers he is getting out.

“We told you three times. Unbuckle your seatbelt and step out of the car,” one officer said.

In this image taken from video shared with OPB, Portland-area chiropractor Mahdi Khanbabazadeh is detained by federal immigration officials near his child's Montessori school in Beaverton on July 15, 2025.

In this image taken from video shared with OPB, Portland-area chiropractor Mahdi Khanbabazadeh is detained by federal immigration officials near his child's Montessori school in Beaverton on July 15, 2025.

Another video taken from outside the vehicle shows Khanbabazadeh standing next to a black SUV being handcuffed and led away by several ICE officers, some of whom are wearing masks.

A spokesperson for ICE declined late Monday to comment on the videos.

Khanbabazadeh is currently being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. He was born in Iran and is married to a U.S. citizen. The couple had recently completed an interview with immigration authorities and were awaiting final approval on a green card.

Leqaa Kordia, a resident of Newark, New Jersey, was detained and accused of failing to leave the U.S. after her student visa expired. Federal authorities said Kordia is a Palestinian from the West Bank and that she was arrested at or near Columbia during pro-Palestinian protests. Columbia has said it has no record of her being a student there.

Kordia is being held in an immigration detention center in Alvarado, Texas, according to a government database.

Mayoral candidate and city Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested Tuesday by federal agents at an immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan, according to Homeland Security officials and staff for his mayoral campaign and office.

Video posted to social media shows Lander being led away in handcuffs into an elevator by two men who appear to be masked law enforcement officials, which is consistent with the recent practices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

“You have no authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander can be heard asking in the video. “Where are you taking me and with what authority?”

Lander campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec told Gothamist the comptroller was arrested while escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza.

Maria Lepère and Charlotte Pohl, both recent high school graduates from Rostock, Germany, embarked on a world tour, visiting countries like Thailand and New Zealand, according to the German outlet Ostsee Zeitung.

Their journey took an unexpected turn when they arrived in Hawaii without pre-booked accommodations. Immigration officials, suspecting potential unauthorized work intentions due to the lack of hotel reservations, detained them.

The duo spent several days in a detention facility before being deported, despite holding valid travel documents and having no prior infractions.

Pineda lived and worked in California, his mother, Jessica Lezama, told VTV, a Venezuelan state-run television station. He turned himself in to U.S. immigration officials in May 2024 and was released with a GPS tracker as he awaited a court date for his immigration case. In January, he was detained during a routine check-in with immigration officials and transferred to a detention center in Texas, according to his mother. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which included a clown and a person’s name, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

López came to the U.S. in April 2022, after living and working in Honduras, where he met his partner, Cherry Flores. According to Flores, they turned themselves in to Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas. They lived in Denver before he moved to Chicago, where he was picked up by immigration agents in February 2025 while on his way to buy car parts, Flores told us. He was detained for a month before he was sent to Texas, then El Salvador. He had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned, according to our analysis of immigration court data. It’s unclear if his tattoos, which include the dates of his father’s birth and death, played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists López as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing that, in August 2023, he was arrested in Chicago on a municipal code violation for riding his bike on the sidewalk while drinking a Budweiser. A judge entered a judgment against him after López failed to appear for a hearing.

The youngest of four siblings and the father of a young child, Basto grew up in a farming community in Venezuela, selling fruit to make a living, his mother has told reporters in Venezuela. In 2024, Basto left for the U.S. He spent four months in Mexico, scraping by selling beverages on the street to save enough money while he waited for an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. His mother told VTV, a state-run Venezuelan television station, that he finally secured a slot for Oct. 7. Days later he called her to say he’d been detained because of his tattoos, which include a palm tree and flowers. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested a U.S. citizen for entering the state of Florida as an “unauthorized alien.”

Juan Carlos Lopez Gomez will remain in jail for 48 hours under an ICE hold, according to the Florida Phoenix. His mother and a community advocate presented his birth certificate and Social Security card during a hearing in Leon County, but the judge said that she had no authority to release him due to the court's jurisdiction.

Lopez Gomez, 21, was born in Georgia.

Manzo and his wife left Venezuela in December 2023, according to the nonprofit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. When they arrived in the U.S. in March 2024, his pregnant wife was allowed in but he was deported to Mexico. In October, he got an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. Manzo was detained at his appointment and remained in immigration custody until he was sent to El Salvador. His daughter was born while he was in custody. His sister told Mother Jones that Manzo has a tattoo of a clock, which he’d gotten while living and working in Mexico as he waited for his CBP One appointment. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

1 kid

Little public information is available about Rodríguez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Rodríguez as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was cited in August 2024 for driving with no license in Wake County, North Carolina. But it’s not clear if this is the charge the government is referring to or how the case was resolved.

Flores had a pending asylum application when he was deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, according to our analysis of immigration court data. Little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

Plaintiff in ESPINOZA ESCALONA v. NOEM, 1:25-cv-00604, (D.D.C. Mar 01, 2025), fighting to block any potential transfer to Guantánamo. Afghan. 'He sought asylum in the United States in July 2024 due to threats from the Taliban. Mr. Malik hoped to join his cousin in Michigan.'

Little public information is available about Soto’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Soto as having pending criminal charges. We could not find related court or police records, and the Trump administration declined to provide information to support the claim.

A woman says her family's fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were not the suspects the agents were looking for.

The agents had a search warrant for the home, but the suspects listed on the warrant do not live in the house.

The woman who actually lives in the house had just moved to Oklahoma City from Maryland with her family about two weeks earlier.

The woman, who News 4 will refer to as “Marisa”, and her three daughters came to Oklahoma looking for a slower, more affordable pace of life.

But any comfort they had disappeared Thursday morning when about 20 men, armed with guns, busted through the door.

Marisa said the men identified themselves as federal agents with the U.S. Marshals, ICE, and the FBI.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service denied having agents present during the raid, telling News 4 they were “aware of the operation before it happened,” but did not assist in any capacity.

“I keep asking them, ‘who are you? What are you doing here? What's happening,'” she said. “And they said, ‘we have a warrant for the house, a search warrant.'”

She said they ordered her and her daughters outside into the rain before they could even put on clothes.

“They wanted me to change in front of all of them, in between all of them,” she said. “My husband has not even seen my daughter in her undergarments—her own dad, because it's respectful. You have her out there, a minor, in her underwear.”

Marisa said the names on the search warrant were not hers or anyone in her family.

“We just moved here from Maryland,” she said. “We're citizens. That's what I kept saying. We're citizens.”

She said the agents didn't care.

“They were very dismissive, very rough, very careless,” she said. “I kept pleading. I kept telling them we weren't criminals. They were treating us like criminals. We were here by ourselves. We didn't do anything.”

Marisa said the agents tore apart every square inch of the house and what few belongings they had, seizing their phones, laptops and their life savings in cash as “evidence.”

“I told them before they left, I said you took my phone. We have no money. I just moved here,” she said. “I have to feed my children. I'm going to need gas money. I need to be able to get around. Like, how do you just leave me like this? Like an abandoned dog.”

Little public information is available about Machado’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S., other than that he had a final deportation order from June 2024. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

In court documents challenging his immigration detention, Manrique said his mother died in 2024, that he had a brother in a wheelchair who needed medication and that his family needed him. Other than this, little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Manrique as having a criminal conviction for “general crimes.” We found records showing he pleaded guilty in February 2020 to engaging in organized criminal activity and the unlawful interception, use or disclosure of wire, oral or electronic communications in Tarrant County, Texas. He was sentenced to six years in state prison. He was detained by immigration officials when he was released.

Blanco is the youngest of five siblings and the only boy, his father told us. He left Venezuela to help support his family, living in Colombia for some time before migrating to the U.S. in 2022. He settled in the Bronx, where he worked delivering food and at a retail store. His father told us he obtained temporary protected status, which allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. Blanco’s tattoos include Scrooge McDuck, a spaceship and his mother’s name. It’s unclear if his tattoos played a role in the government labeling him a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Blanco as having pending criminal charges. We found records showing he was arrested in March 2024 for shoplifting at a Macy’s in Wayne, New Jersey. He pleaded not guilty. That case is pending. According to the news outlet The City, Blanco was also facing charges from a November incident of reckless driving in a stolen vehicle that caused a collision. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said that, after Blanco’s deportation, the case was dismissed. His father said he had not heard about the arrest but confirmed that the mugshot in police records was his son’s. His father asked, “Does that make him deserve being sent to CECOT?” a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

Mayorga, whose legal name is Ming Li Hui, has been detained in jail under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since late April. She'd traveled from Kennett, Missouri, her home for nearly two decades, to St. Louis for what she thought was a routine meeting to renew her employment authorization document.

The document, issued by the federal government, allows her to work legally in the U.S. and is set to expire in January 2026.

Originally from Hong Kong, Mayorga said she was used to the meetings. But when she arrived, things were anything but usual.

After a brief meeting, Mayorga said a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staffer told her she needed to stay at the office in St. Louis. She agreed in hopes of receiving her renewal that suddenly seemed in peril.

“I started to worry — I was over there so long,” Mayorga said through a black telephone receiver in the jail. “I asked one officer, ‘Can I go now?' because it was so late, and he said, ‘No, no, no. You will stay here.'"

Nearly seven hours passed before ICE officers entered the room, placing the 45-year-old woman, whom many residents in Kennett described as a soccer mom, in shackles at the wrists, waist and ankles.

Marea lived in Ohio, but little public information is available about his life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

A federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a man who was deported to El Salvador roughly 30 minutes after the court suspended an order to remove him from the U.S.

The ruling in Jordin Alexander Melgar-Salmeron ‘s case marks at least the fourth time this year that President Donald Trump’s administration has been ordered to facilitate the return of somebody mistakenly deported.

The government said “a confluence of administrative errors” led to Melgar-Salmeron’s deportation on May 8, according to the decision by a three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The panel said administration officials must facilitate his return to the U.S. “as soon as possible.” The judges gave them a week to identify his current physical location and custodial status and to specify what steps they will take to facilitate his return.

Little public information is available about Hung’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

U.S. government data we obtained lists Hung as having a criminal conviction for federal weapon offenses. Records show he was arrested in April 2021 after attempting to buy a pistol and 26 fully automatic AK-47 firearms from an undercover federal agent in Miami. According to the criminal complaint, he and another person were trying to send the weapons to Venezuela. In September 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to smuggle firearms out of the U.S. and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, plus two years of supervised release. The judge reduced the sentence in March 2023, and Hung was notified he would be transferred to immigration custody as part of his conditions for supervised release. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Austin, Texas, in February, the Department Homeland Security announced in a video, where he was labeled a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

A Portland woman and her four children have been detained at a Customs and Border Protection station in Whatcom County since June 28 after they were arrested while visiting relatives at Peace Arch Park.

Originally from Honduras, Jackie is in the process of applying for an alternative visa. Her children were born in the U.S. and are citizens.

Jackie and her children, including her mother, were meeting with family at Peace Arch Park, Dexter said. It’s unclear what led to Jackie’s detention, but Dexter confirmed she and her children had not crossed into Canadian territory.

Shortly after the US government illegally and unconstitutionally transported about 240 Venezuelans to be imprisoned in El Salvador's horrific “terrorism” prison on March 15, CBS News published their names. A subsequent CBS News investigation found that 75 percent of the men on that list had no criminal record in the United States or abroad. Less attention has been paid to the fact that dozens of these men never violated immigration laws either.

The US government not only denied these men due process; it has also generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserve incarceration in El Salvador. In fact, it has never even published a comprehensive list of individuals that it has sent to El Salvador, and it has refused to verify the CBS News list. Journalists have already discovered that the list obtained by CBS News was incomplete.

Moreover, in most cases, the men never knew the “evidence” against them or that they were being removed to El Salvador. Finally, the US and Salvadoran governments won't allow the men to talk to anyone, so there is no way to interview them directly.

The mother of a B.C. woman who was detained for nearly two weeks by immigration officials in the United States says her daughter is back on home soil.

Mooney, a businesswoman and former actress, was placed in "inhumane" conditions in a cell holding 30 people with limited bathroom facilities.

In a statement to CBC News on Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Mooney was detained for "not having legal documentation" to be in the states.

Little public information is available about Vázquez’s life in Venezuela or how he came to the U.S. Please reach out if you have information to share.

He is not included in the U.S. government data we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.

[Frengel] Reyes Mota is among the hundreds of Venezuelans that the Trump administration deported earlier this month through the use of extraordinary wartime powers based on a 1798 law. The administration sent them to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, claiming they are members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. But the 24-year-old father does not have a criminal record in Venezuela. His U.S. immigration detention records are riddled with mistakes, raising questions about how reliable they are. He does not have tattoos and his family members deny he has any gang ties.

Plaintiff in ESPINOZA ESCALONA v. NOEM, 1:25-cv-00604, (D.D.C. Mar 01, 2025), fighting to block any potential transfer to Guantánamo. Pakistani. 'Mr. Muhammad came to the United States in 2024 to seek asylum due to threats from the Taliban.'

The father of two young daughters, Guevara worked on a farm, cultivating oranges, peppers and avocados, before leaving Venezuela for Peru in 2022, his sister told us. After about two years there, he decided to travel to the U.S., where he hoped to find a stable income to support his family. He spent about seven months in Mexico, working in construction and sorting recycling as he waited to secure an appointment with U.S. border officials made via the CBP One app. The Biden administration used the app to try to bring order to the soaring numbers of migrants attempting to enter the country. “He wanted to enter the legal way, that way he could then ask for asylum,” his sister said. Immigration agents detained Guevara at his appointment in late December 2024 “because of his tattoos, that they were supposedly associated with that” Tren de Aragua gang, his sister said. Tattooed on Guevara’s arms are the names of relatives, including one underneath a crown. He remained in detention until March 15, when he was deported to El Salvador and imprisoned. Just hours before his deportation, Guevara called his family in Venezuela to say he thought he’d be flown home that day. “He said he was wearing his civilian clothes again, had gathered his belongings, and that we should wait for him,” his sister said.

He was not flagged as having criminal convictions or pending charges in U.S. government data that we obtained, and we found no related court or police records.