Gay makeup artist Andry Jose Hernández Romero sits in a notorious prison in El Salvador for no good reason. He was one of 238 Venezuelan migrants flown to the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in El Salvador about four weeks ago after the Trump administration made an agreement with Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele to house them there. Hernández Romero had been in a detention facility in San Diego, where he was awaiting a pre-arranged asylum hearing.
Yet, it is increasingly likely that Hernández Romero will remain in CECOT for the foreseeable future even though he has committed no crime in the U.S. and had followed the steps to seek asylum. Bukele, the dictator who rules El Salvador, met with President Donald Trump on Monday and flatly said he could not release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported and is now at CECOT as Trump just sat and smiled. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. Trump and Pam Bondi, his attorney general, are flagrantly disregarding the high court. While flouting the rule of law has long been a Trump trademark, the current situation of ignoring due process is taking things to a whole new level.
Gay Congressmember Ritchie Torres (D-New York) summed it up well during an interview on CNN. “Of all the abuses of Donald Trump's presidency, there is no greater threat to liberty than his complete contempt for due process,” Torres said. “Without due process, what stops Donald Trump from wrongfully labeling any American as a non-citizen gang member and abducting them?"
And that’s the point that Trump himself mused about on Monday, urging Bukele to build more prisons and musing he would like to send U.S. citizens to them. LGBTQ people, particularly trans Americans, are rightfully wary as Trump has shown no limit to the chaos he will cause, whether one is a U.S. citizen or not. He is ignoring court orders, even from the Supreme Court, to which he appointed three members, cementing a conservative majority. We are seeing the start of an authoritarian presidency before our very eyes.
SF Pride’s misstep
It is important for Hernández Romero’s plight to remain front and center. Hernández Romero had his story told on a recent “60 Minutes” episode, bringing nationwide attention to his case. Of the hundreds of migrants flown to El Salvador by the U.S. government, Hernández Romero and Abrego Garcia are two of the well-known examples of Trump’s blatant disregard for due process.
Recently, there were calls from gay longtime activists Cleve Jones and Nicole Murray Ramirez to have Hernández Romero recognized as an honorary grand marshal at Pride parades across the U.S. this year. Unfortunately, San Francisco Pride has declined to recognize Hernández Romero in this way. Had it done so, it would have significantly amplified the issue at one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world and in a city that is a beacon for LGBTQ people. SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford, a transgender woman, issued a statement Tuesday calling for Hernández Romero’s release and indicating that the organization will highlight Hernández Romero and migrant issues at its Pride Summit that takes place a few days before Pride weekend. While this is important, we will note that at last year’s summit, the biggest global issue of the day – the Israel-Hamas war and the LGBTQ community’s differing opinions of it – wasn’t discussed at all. Here’s hoping this year’s summit will be an improvement.
SF Pride typically has numerous community and honorary grand marshals each year. We continue to believe that Hernández Romero’s inclusion would have been a net positive for keeping the spotlight on his case and SF Pride’s advocacy work for our community. Sort of like how in 2016, just weeks after the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, the parade featured a contingent in honor of the victims, mostly LGBTQ Latinos.
We would also be remiss if we did not again acknowledge the terrible time it is now for trans Americans, many of whom are fearful due to Trump’s executive orders demeaning them, stripping them of rights, and seeking to take away access to health care, among other major issues. We, as a community, can and do advocate both for Hernández Romero’s return to the U.S. to complete the asylum process and for the trans community, including those lost to violence this year. It is not the either-or proposition that some make it out to be.
It’s worth noting that continuing to publicize Hernández Romero’s case may be one of the few ways to prod U.S. and Salvadoran leaders. Already, California Governor Gavin Newsom has sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting Hernández Romero’s return to the U.S. so that his case can be examined. The Human Rights Campaign has started a petition. At its April 23 meeting, the San Francisco Democratic Party will take up for discussion and possible action a resolution condemning the deportation of Hernández Romero and all the other extrajudicial deportations by the Trump administration. Gay San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee member Michael Nguyen is the author. Attendees at last weekend’s People’s March carried signs calling for Hernández Romero to be released. Gays Without Borders has held vigils outside the Salvadoran Consulate in San Francisco, with another one planned for Thursday at 3 p.m.
It’s critical to keep up that pressure. Since SF Pride won’t formally recognize Hernández Romero, contingents in the parade should make their own placards and signs calling for his release. They can take to the streets in solidarity with migrants like Hernández Romero, who came to the U.S. to seek a better life, only to be carted off to a horrible prison in a foreign country without due process. The U.S. should be better than that. But with Trump at the helm, the country is drifting further into the abyss.
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