Keeping Vigil for the Kidnapped
The deepest human empathy aches for strangers too
Kilmar Abrego García and Mahmoud Khalil have finally been returned to their families in the U.S. after being unconstitutionally expelled from the country. Their journey to full freedom is far from over, but at least they are home and working with their attorneys.
Hundreds of others are still unaccounted for. So few of their actual names and stories are getting the publicity they need and deserve. And I can’t stop thinking about one of them in particular.
I burst into tears when I read a stranger’s post: “Andry José Hernández Romero, I remember you, even if I do not know how to articulate my horror, rage, & sorrow at your treatment by my government. No one has heard from you in 43 days. As vigil, I’m posting a photo of you every day until you are returned from El Salvador.”
I don’t know how Michael Jay McClure’s post came across my feed weeks and weeks ago, but, dearest internet stranger, I’m so grateful. And heartbroken.
Andry is just one of the 238 men unconstitutionally imprisoned at the Center for Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT), a for-profit El Salvadoran mega-prison. We didn’t know any of their names until CBS News “obtained an internal government list of the names of the Venezuelan men the Trump administration deported to El Salvador as part of a secretive operation last week that has triggered a legal standoff in the U.S. and a debate around the world.”1
Under the flimsiest of pretenses, that hundreds of boys and men, without due process, are assumed to be gang members from Tren de Aragua, the MAGA administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and is using it to round up Venezuelan nationals 14 and older.
Andry is an openly gay makeup artist who dreamed of doing design work and tailoring in addition to cosmetology.2 He is just one of those 238 unique souls with unique dreams for their futures. Other sources put the number of unconstitutionally deported people at 261.3 We should know. Government transparency is a non-negotiable pillar of democracy, but the “national security” loophole is all too often exploited.
U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for this mass deportation and unconstitutional imprisonment. It is being described as a $6 million investment.
“The governments of the United States and El Salvador have subjected more than 200 Venezuelan nationals to enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention,” according to Human Rights Watch.
How did Andry, an aspiring cosmetologist, wind up disappeared and in that arbitrary detention with no access to communication or attorneys?
“According to court documents filed by his lawyers, obtained by BBC Mundo, the 31-year-old surrendered at the border, at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, on 29 August after making an appointment with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency for asylum.”4
“His asylum request claimed that he was a victim of persecution in Venezuela for his political beliefs and sexual orientation.”5
"If I had known that the crowns would take Andry to jail, I would never have tattooed them on his body", Andry’s tattoo artist told BBC Mundo.6
Capacho Nuevo, Venezuela, is famous for its annual Three Kings celebration. Andry loved it. He went every year and even acted in it. And above each of the tattoos on his left and right wrists, one saying “Mom”, and the other “Dad”, in English that ICE can’t mistake, he got tattoos of crowns — the symbol most emblematic of Capacho Nuevo’s Reyes Magos epiphany celebration.7
A young man who loves his parents and a hometown tradition was disappeared because the U.S. government misinterpreted religious tattoos or used them as a pretense for taking him.
Unrepentant puppy killer and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem refuses to confirm that Andry is still at CECOT or even whether or not he’s still alive.8 But she did go all the way to El Salvador to pose for MAGA photo ops and threaten immigrants. It was signature MAGA: cruel and tacky posturing.
Our helplessness is daily. But a stranger lighting a digital candle for a beautiful, innocent soul he’s never met proves that Andry matters. His freedom matters. His human rights matter. Everyone’s does.
Keeping a daily vigil for one soul in a news cycle so peripatetically short is kind of radical in our fast-paced self-centered world. McClure’s daily digital vigil humanizes Andry, who turned 32 in prison. McClure also updated followers on two court cases that can free Andry, one is a New York Times report on an appeals case pausing the MAGA deportations. This attempt could reinstate due process for the hundreds of kidnapped Venezuelans.
And McClure encouraged followers to donate to Free Andry, the good folks mounting the critical legal defense.
“Whether it’s the headlines today or Andry’s nightmare as an asylum seeker—the hallmark of this US presidential regime is chaotic cruelty. @immdef.bsky.social & their amazing lawyers represent Andry & other immigrants caught up in this governmental violence. Go to freeandry.org to support,” he posted on Andry’s 99th day of inhumane detention.
Every day, our hearts and our nervous systems are fighting the battle between staying informed and losing all faith in humanity. Keep fighting and keep believing in the greater good. Train your algorithm to include hope for your heart and provide direction for your conviction.
Follow the good folks and organizations on the good platforms. Stay informed and donate what you can to the orgs doing the hard work you believe in. And remember, following, reposting, commenting, liking, and sharing are all free forms of advocacy.
If you’re a praying person, pray for Andry to come home in safety, where he can continue his legal pursuit of asylum. In his own words, Andry described himself: 31years venezolano emprendedor soñador cada día aprendo más mi arte, maquillador 😉🎉🗼🎶💎
He’s been gone for 101 days. If he wants to return to the U.S., may he do so safely, to continue his entrepreneurship and his artistry, and healing, in peace.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuelans-deported-el-salvador-names/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/americas/romero-venezuela-deported-us-salvador-intl-latam
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd3rdjn81lo
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4z640dlz3o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4z640dlz3o
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4z640dlz3o
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-immigration-round-sends-artist-102450438.html
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/kristi-noem-faces-backlash-over-silence-on-detained-gay-makeup-artists-fate-in-el-salvador/articleshow/121194254.cms