Mirelis Casique hasn’t heard from her 24-year-old son since Saturday morning. He called her from a detention center in Laredo, Texas. He told her he was about to be deported along with a group of fellow Venezuelans, but he didn’t know where they were headed. Hours later, his name vanished from the immigration website.
“Now he’s in an abyss with no one to rescue him,” Mirelis said, speaking from her home in Venezuela. Her son, Francisco Javier García Casique, has become another victim in a disturbing cycle of deportations to El Salvador. This weekend, 238 Venezuelans were reportedly sent back, leading families to panic. Many fear that their loved ones are being handed over without adequate process.
The White House claims these men are “terrorists” connected to the Tren de Aragua gang. But families like Mirelis’s insist their relatives have no gang ties. Over the weekend, the Salvadoran government released images of the deported men arriving at a mega-prison, with their heads freshly shaven.
Mirelis believes she spotted her son in one of these photos. She recognized the tattoos on his arms and felt “broken” by the situation. Both the U.S. and Salvadoran governments have not confirmed the identities of those deported — a lack of transparency that only heightens the family’s despair.
The United States has been struggling to deport Venezuelans back to their country, as Nicolás Maduro’s government has refused to accept regular deportation flights. This has pushed the Trump administration to explore other means. Recently, Venezuela’s government responded harshly, declaring that the deportations violated both U.S. and international laws.
Since Maduro came to power, millions of Venezuelans have fled their country due to a severe economic and humanitarian crisis. Many seek refuge in the U.S., hoping for safety and a better life. Yet, they often find themselves caught in a complicated web of immigration policies.
This situation highlights an important point: how vulnerable migrants can be, especially when they are already in desperate circumstances. As they navigate the systems meant to protect them, they often face misunderstandings and harsh realities.
Mirelis said her son had injuries from a journey through Mexico, where he fell from a train. He entered the U.S. seeking asylum after years of hard work in Peru to support his family. But after being detained, his tattoos raised suspicions of gang involvement, leading to his investigation.
Though he was released after a judge found no danger posed, the arrival of a new administration changed everything. Mirelis had reassured him there was nothing to fear, thinking deportations would focus on serious criminals. However, authorities took him into custody just days later.
This tragic story is part of a broader context exploring the challenges Venezuelans face today. Recent studies show that nearly 7 million Venezuelans have fled their country, the largest displacement crisis in Latin America. Families desperately seek asylum and a chance to rebuild their lives, yet they encounter numerous obstacles.
The hard truth is that immigration policies are often complex and unforgiving. Many families, like Mirelis’s, are left in an agonizing limbo as they wait for clarity — and hope for a reunion.
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