U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is demanding answers from the Trump-Vance administration on its deportation of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan makeup artist who was sent to a prison in El Salvador in violation of a federal court order and in the absence of credible evidence supporting the government’s claims about his affiliation with a criminal gang.

Copies of letters the congressman issued on Thursday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CoreCivic, a private prison contractor, were shared exclusively with the Washington Blade.

Garcia noted that Hernández, who sought asylum from persecution in Venezuela over his sexual orientation and political beliefs, had entered the U.S. legally, passed a preliminary screening, and had no criminal record.

Pro-bono lawyers representing Hernández during his detention in the U.S. pending an outcome in his asylum case were informed that their client had been removed to El Salvador a week after he failed to show for a hearing on March 13.

Hernández’s family now fears for his safety while he remains in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which has a well documented record of human rights abuses, Garcia said.

Additionally, the congressman wrote, while experts say Tren de Aragua does not use tattoos as identifiers, the “primary evidence” supporting Hernández’s deportation based on his supposed links to the transnational Venezuelan gang “appears to have been two crown tattoos labeled ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad,’ which are common cultural symbols in his hometown.”

The determination about his links to or membership in the organization was made by a CoreCivic employee whose criminal record and misconduct as a law enforcement officer led to his termination from the Milwaukee Police Department, Garcia wrote in his letter to the company.

Requesting a response by May 1, the congressman asked CoreCivic President Damon T. Hininger to address the following questions:

• What qualifications and training does CoreCivic require for employees tasked with making determinations about detainees’ affiliations?
• What protocols are in place to ensure that determinations of gang affiliation are based on credible and corroborated evidence?
• How does CoreCivic oversee and review the decisions made by its employees in such critical matters?
• What mechanisms exist to prevent and address potential misconduct?
• What is the nature of CoreCivic’s collaboration with ICE in making determinations that affect deportation decisions? Are there joint review processes?
• What background checks and ongoing assessments are conducted for employees involved in detainee evaluations, particularly those with prior law enforcement experience?
• What guidelines does CoreCivic follow regarding the use of tattoos as indicators of gang affiliation, and how does the company ensure that cultural or personal tattoos are not misinterpreted?

In his letter to Tae D. Johnson, acting director of ICE, Garcia requested answers to the following questions by May 1:

• Did ICE personnel independently review and approve the determination made by CoreCivic employee Charles Cross Jr. identifying Mr. Hernández Romero as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang?
• What evidence, beyond Mr. Hernández Romero’s tattoos, was used to substantiate the claim of gang affiliation?
• Under what legal authority are private contractors like CoreCivic permitted to make determinations that directly impact deportation decisions?
• What vetting processes and background checks are in place for contractors involved in such determinations? Are there oversight mechanisms to ensure their credibility and adherence to due process?
• What guidelines does ICE follow regarding the use of tattoos as indicators of gang affiliation, and how does the company ensure that cultural or personal tattoos are not misinterpreted?

Together with U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Garcia wrote to U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Tuesday requesting permission to bring a congressional delegation to CECOT for purposes of conducting a welfare check on detainees, expressing specific concern for Hernández’s wellbeing. The congressmen said they would “gladly include any Republican Members of the committee who wish to participate.” 

Hernández’s case has drawn fierce criticism of the Trump-Vance administration along with calls for his return to the U.S.

Influential podcaster and Trump ally Joe Rogan spoke out in late March, calling the deportation “horrific” and “a horrible mistake.”

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sent a letter to Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security, which manages ICE, demanding Hernández’s immediate return and raising concerns with the right to due process amid the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Hernández “was denied the opportunity to defend himself against unsubstantiated allegations of gang involvement or to present his asylum claim,” the governor wrote. “We are not a nation that sends people to be tortured and victimized in a foreign prison for public relations victories.”

Immigrant Defenders Law Center President Lindsay Toczylowski, who is representing Hernández, has not been able to reach her client since his removal from the U.S., she told NBC News San Diego in a report published April 11.

“Under the Constitution, every single person has a right to due process, and that means they have a right to notification of any allegations the government is making against them and a right to go into court and prove that those allegations are wrong if that’s the case,” she said. “In Andry’s case, the government never gave us that opportunity. In fact, they didn’t even bring him to court, and they have forcefully sent him to El Salvador without ever giving us any notice or without telling us the way that we could appeal their decision.”

“CECOT, this prison where no one has ever left, where people are held incommunicado, is a very dangerous place for someone like Andry,” Toczylowski said.

In March, a DHS spokesperson posted on X that Hernández’s “own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua,” though they did not point to any specific posts and NBC reported that reviews of his known social media accounts turned up no evidence of gang activity.  

During a visit to CECOT in March, Time Magazine photographer Philip Holsinger photographed Romero and reported that the detainee plead his innocence — “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a stylist.” — crying for his mother as he was slapped and his head was shaved.

Republicans members of the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced two anti-transgender bills on Wednesday, one that would forcibly out students in public elementary and middle schools to their parents and a second covering grades K-12 that critics have dubbed a “don’t say trans” bill.

More specifically, under the PROTECT Kids Act, changes to “a minor’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form or sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms” could not be made without parental consent, while the Say No to Indoctrination Act would prohibit schools from teaching or advancing “gender ideology” as defined by President Donald Trump’s anti-trans Jan. 20 executive order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), who was named national teacher of the year before her election to Congress, rose to speak out against the bills during the committee’s convening on Wednesday.

“Curriculum does not include teaching students to be something else. Curriculum does not include indoctrinating students to identify as gay or LGBTQ or other or anything. But federal law mandates that all students have civil rights protections,” she said.

The congresswoman continued, “I don’t really understand what the members of this committee think happens in schools, but my question is, what do we do with these children? The children who you are saying, on this committee, don’t exist, the children who are struggling with their identity and often times confide in their teachers and ask for support and help.”

“What we’re doing in this committee is focusing on a small population of students who are at a point in their life where they are struggling and school may, for many of them, feel like the only safe place or the only place where they can get support, or the only place where they can speak to a counselor,” Hayes said.

“And as a teacher, I don’t care if it was just one student that I had to reassure that they were important and they were valued and they belonged here,” she said. “I’m going to do it, and anyone who has dedicated their life to this profession will do the same. So the idea that you all feel okay with arbitrarily erasing, disappearing people, making them think that they they don’t exist, or they don’t have a place in schools, or the curriculum should not include them, or whatever they’re feeling should not be valued, considered, Incorporated, is just wrong.”

“So I will not be supporting this piece of legislation, as if that was not already evident, and I will be using all of my time, my agency, my energy, my advocacy, to ensure that every student,” Hayes said, “feels valued, respected, important and included in the work that I engage in on this committee.”

The congresswoman concluded, “when you are in a classroom and you are a teacher, and that door closes and a student falls in your arms and says to you, I am struggling, and I can’t go home with this information, and I need Help, you have a moral responsibility to help that child or you are in the wrong profession. I yield back.”

The Congressional Equality Caucus slammed the bills in an emailed statement from the chair, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who noted that the legislation comes as “Donald Trump is illegally trying to dismantle the Department of Education and pass tax cuts for billionaires.”

“Extreme Republicans in Congress are trying to distract Americans by advancing cruel, anti-trans legislation,” said the congressman, who is gay. “School districts, teachers, and staff best understand how to draft age-appropriate, inclusive curriculums and craft policies that both respect the important role parents play in children’s education and the importance of students’ safety.”

“Yet, Republicans’ Don’t Say Trans Act would cut critical funding for schools if their teachers teach lessons or include materials that simply acknowledge the reality of trans peoples’ existence,” Takano added. “Republicans’ forced outing bill would put kids in danger by requiring schools that want to take certain steps to affirm a transgender student’s identity to forcibly out them to their parents — even if the school knows this will put the student’s safety at risk.”

The caucus also slammed the bills in a series of posts on X.

🚨BAD BILLS ALERT🚨
Today, the GOP-controlled Education Committee is voting on two anti-trans bills: One to force teachers to out trans students if they want to take certain steps to affirm the students’ identities, and a “Don’t Say Trans” bill.

Here's why we’re opposed: 🧵

— Congressional Equality Caucus (@EqualityCaucus) April 9, 2025

The Human Rights Campaign also issued a statement on Wednesday by the organization’s communications director, Laurel Powell:

“Instead of putting our dangerous President in check and tackling the American economy’s free fall, House Republicans showed where their priorities lie — giving airtime to junk science and trying to pass more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

“Forcing teachers to ‘out’ trans youth rather than supporting them in coming out to their families and demanding that schools ignore the trans students who sit in their classrooms is a craven attempt to distract people from economic disaster by vilifying children.

“Even as they fire people whose jobs were to make sure schools have the resources they need, the Trump administration and their allies in Congress continue to attack vulnerable young people to score points with the far right.”

Gay U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) launched his bid for the seat held by retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) with a video posted to X Thursday morning and kickoff event planned for the evening in his hometown of Manchester, N.H.

“I’m running for Senate because our economy, our democracy, and our way of life are on the line, and New Hampshire deserves a senator who is grounded in the people, places, and values of this state,” he said in a press release. “Granite Staters know my record of taking on the big fights and looking out for them — pushing tax cuts for working families and small businesses, taking on predatory companies and corporate polluters, and standing up to Big Pharma to lower drug costs.”

Pappas’s statement continued, “Like Sen. Shaheen, I’ll always put New Hampshire first. You can count on me to lead the charge to confront this administration, self-dealing billionaires, and extreme politicians who threaten our future and our ability to get things done for New Hampshire.”

In his video, the fourth-term congressman pledged to rein in the power of big corporations, and he addressed “veterans, parents, small business owners,” and the “people who have done everything right” but are “asking ‘why does it feel like the system is rigged?'”

Referencing concerns with the Republican administration and GOP majorities in Congress, he said, “You think about the social security office that’s gonna be closed in Littleton, drastic cuts to Medicaid, all in the name of giving big tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk.”

Pappas also seemed to allude to anti-LGBTQ moves by the White House and congressional Republicans, promising to stand up to “political extremists who want to take rights away.” The ad wrapped with a shot of the congressman with his husband Vann Bentley. “We will get our country back on track. Stronger, fairer, freer, working for everyone.”

I’m in.

Today I’m announcing my campaign for U.S. Senate because New Hampshire needs a fighter who gets things done.

Let’s do this. pic.twitter.com/bAyE5u4LSk

— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) April 3, 2025

Freshman U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) is also considering a run for Shaheen’s seat while former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu are mulling campaigns.

Pappas was endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund, whose newly seated CEO Evan Low released a statement:

“Rep. Chris Pappas has a long and storied history of serving New Hampshire, and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has been right by his side since he ran for state office 23 years ago. He has a track record of taking on big fights for his constituents and has proven that he can win tough races, outperform expectations, and flip key Granite State seats. Whether its strengthening the economy, protecting bodily autonomy or taking on price gougers, Chris will continue to be an important voice that looks out for the people of New Hampshire.

“We need Chris’s pro-equality voice in the Senate, where right now we only have one LGBTQ+ member. He will be a strong fighter against anti-equality forces in the current administration and extreme politicians looking to erase our rights and existence.

“His presence in the Senate will be critical to retake the majority and ensure that Granite State voters won’t get a raw deal. Chris deeply understands New Hampshire, and his record shows that he is laser-focused on getting things done. We are thrilled to endorse Chris Pappas for a history-making place as the first out LGBTQ+ man to serve in the Senate.”