Andry Hernández Romero

According to court documents filed by his lawyers, obtained by BBC Mundo, surrendered at the border, at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, on August 29, 2024, after making an appointment with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency for asylum. His asylum request claimed that he was a victim of persecution in Venezuela for his political beliefs and sexual orientation.

He was then taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and was sent to the Otay Mesa Detention Centre in San Diego. At the center, "he was flagged as a security risk for the sole reason of his tattoos", his lawyer wrote in a statement. One of Andry’s friends, Reina Cárdenas, maintained contact with him until a few days before his deportation. She showed BBC Mundo official documents indicating that the young man had no criminal record in Venezuela.

CoreCivic (a private security company contracted by ICE) official Arturo Torres, acting as interviewer, used a score system to determine whether a detainee is part of a criminal organization. It has nine categories, each with its own score. According to the criteria, the detainees are considered gang members if they score 10 or more points, and they are considered suspects if they score nine or fewer points.

Andry was given five points for the tattoos on his wrists, which included two crowns, according to paperwork signed in December 2024 by officers from the company.
The interviewing officer wrote: "Detainee Hernández has a crown on each one of his wrist. The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragua gang member".

Andry designed and hand-embroidered his own costumes for the annual religious festival known as the Three Wise Men of Capacho, his family says. The symbol that identifies the religious festival - which was officially declared part of Venezuela's national cultural heritage, and of which its residents are proud - is a golden crown, and Andry’s tattoos were in in honor of the festival.

"So far, that form [mentioning the crown tattoos] is the only government document linking Mr Hernández to the Tren de Aragua," Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Centre and part of the legal team representing the young Venezuelan, told BBC Mundo.

Venezuelan researcher and journalist Ronna Rísquez, author of a book about Tren de Aragua, dismisses the idea that tattoos are a criterion that defines membership in this group. “Equating the Tren de Aragua gang with Central American gangs in terms of tattoos is a mistake," she warned.

Unaware that he was suspected of belonging to Tren de Aragua, Andry was expecting to appear in a US court for another asylum-related hearing that he hoped could eventually allow him to remain in the country. By March 2025, he had spent nearly six months at the San Diego detention center before being abruptly transferred to the Webb County Detention Centre in Laredo, Texas, while his asylum case was still pending.

On 15 March, without being able to contest the charges of gang membership, Andry was deported that day as part of a group of 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadorans, to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison, known as the Terrorist Confinement Centre (Cecot).

Since then, no-one has heard from him. His parents had no information about him until they were told that someone had seen a photo of their son in a Salvadoran prison.

The last known image of Andry is a photo taken of him on the night of 15 March inside the Salvadoran mega-prison, when a American photojournalist Philip Holsinger documented the arrival of a group of alleged criminals for Time magazine. That was when he took a photo of a young man saying "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a barber", Mr. Holsinger wrote in his article. The man was chained and, on his knees, while the guards shaved his head. Mr. Holsinger later learned that man was Andry Hernandez. "He was being slapped every time he would speak up… he started praying and calling out, literally crying for his mother," Holsinger told CBS. "Then he buried his face in his chained hands and cried as he was slapped again."

Andry’s case has received much attention in the US and mystery surrounds his condition and whereabouts. California Governor Gavin Newsom has requested his return, while four US congressional representatives travelled to El Salvador and requested to be provided with proof of life for him. They did not get it.

ON May 14th, Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem refused to give proof of life for Andry during questioning in a House Homeland Security Committee. Representative Robert Garcia asked Noem, “His mother just wants to know if he’s alive. Can we do a wellness check on him?”
Noem replied that she did not “know the specifics” of the case and because he was in El Salvador, Garcia should ask the government there about his wellbeing. The case “isn’t under my jurisdiction,” she added.

There have been recent protests and press conferences for Andry’s release. For example, elected officials, attorneys, and immigrant and LGBTQ advocates gathered to demand his immediate Stonewall Inn on Friday, May 9th, and a Free Andry as show sponsored by : A Crooked/The Bulwark Fundraiser At WorldPride will be at Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 6.

Additionally, "Andry recently became a named plaintiff in J.G.G. v Trump, a case led by the ACLU that aims to release him and hundreds of Venezuelan men from detention in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, president and CEO of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, which is representing Andry.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/03/24/what-to-know-about-andry-31-year-old-makeup-artist-falsely-deported-to-el-salvador-prison-lawyer-says/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14531405/Andrys-Cedeno-Gil-gay-makeu-artist-migrant-El-Salvador-prison.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gay-venezuelan-makeup-artist-deported_n_67e05688e4b0dbd2dbaf96f5
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/brad-hoylman-sigal/attorneys-representing-andry-hernandez-romero-join
https://www.foxla.com/news/andry-hernandez-romero-gay-makeup-artist-deported-el-salvador-lgbtq-community-demands-justice
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4z640dlz3o
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/05/16/kristi-noem-andry-jose-hernandez-romero-el-salvador/
https://gaycitynews.com/stonewall-gay-asylum-seeker-andry-hernandez-romero/
https://www.ebar.com/story/154579