Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
@neighborbit.bsky.social
Venezuelan immigrant in the U.S. / Dual Citizen / Politically progressive / Academic in the Humanities / I make this country better through compassion
Pinned
"a civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless" - James Baldwin, "The Fire Next Time" (1963)
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5.
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
Sanford grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S.
Paul Bojerski never gained official residency, but he checked in regularly with ICE for years. Then in July, at age 79, he was detained and sent to Alligator Alcatraz.
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5.
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
Another person with so much to offer, pushed out of this country for no good reason.
Mt Pleasant sidewalk astronomer facing deportation!!! 51st.news/mount-pleasa... He is only 19 and has his whole life ahead of him, and a beloved community member. Let's support him with all we got.
Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home
But Gael Gomez wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
51st.news
November 14, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Another person with so much to offer, pushed out of this country for no good reason.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Ended up on Venezuelan Twitter and couldn’t be happier about it
November 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Ended up on Venezuelan Twitter and couldn’t be happier about it
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
pro soccer player Jerce Reyes Barrios followed all the rules when he came to the US. His lawyer told took his asylum case bc it seemed like a "slam dunk. Then US officials sent him to CECOT, where he was told he'd spend the rest of his life
w/@mattshuham.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/pro-so...
w/@mattshuham.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/pro-so...
Pro Soccer Player Who Spent 125 Days At CECOT Gives Chilling Account Of His Time There
“Both the physical and mental abuse doled out by the officers made me think sometimes that I would never leave that place,” Jerce Reyes Barrios said.
www.huffpost.com
August 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
pro soccer player Jerce Reyes Barrios followed all the rules when he came to the US. His lawyer told took his asylum case bc it seemed like a "slam dunk. Then US officials sent him to CECOT, where he was told he'd spend the rest of his life
w/@mattshuham.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/pro-so...
w/@mattshuham.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/pro-so...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
1/2 Listen to them speak—about the screams in the dark, the constant beatings, the filth, the cages. About how many tried to kill themselves just to escape the torture.
Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, & Wilmer José Vega Sandia are 3 of the men the Trump regime abducted to CECOT.
Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, & Wilmer José Vega Sandia are 3 of the men the Trump regime abducted to CECOT.
July 30, 2025 at 9:16 PM
1/2 Listen to them speak—about the screams in the dark, the constant beatings, the filth, the cages. About how many tried to kill themselves just to escape the torture.
Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, & Wilmer José Vega Sandia are 3 of the men the Trump regime abducted to CECOT.
Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, & Wilmer José Vega Sandia are 3 of the men the Trump regime abducted to CECOT.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
I spoke with Andry Romero.
July 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I spoke with Andry Romero.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
"He wants the world to know what happened to him in the Salvadoran prison — daily beatings, humiliation, psychological abuse. 'There is no reason for what I went through,” he said. “I didn’t deserve that.'" A haunting dispatch from @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/vene...
He Was Asked About His Tattoos and a TikTok Video in Court. Five Days Later, He Was in a Salvadoran Prison.
Albert Jesús Rodríguez Parra was one of more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants the Trump administration sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. After his release, he says he wants the world to ...
www.propublica.org
July 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"He wants the world to know what happened to him in the Salvadoran prison — daily beatings, humiliation, psychological abuse. 'There is no reason for what I went through,” he said. “I didn’t deserve that.'" A haunting dispatch from @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/vene...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
VIDEO: 🇻🇪 🇸🇻 Venezuelan makeup artist returns home from brutal Salvadoran prison
Andry Hernandez arrived back in his hometown in the Venezuelan Andes after spending four months in a Salvadoran maximum security prison, where he says he endured sexual abuse
Andry Hernandez arrived back in his hometown in the Venezuelan Andes after spending four months in a Salvadoran maximum security prison, where he says he endured sexual abuse
July 25, 2025 at 1:23 PM
VIDEO: 🇻🇪 🇸🇻 Venezuelan makeup artist returns home from brutal Salvadoran prison
Andry Hernandez arrived back in his hometown in the Venezuelan Andes after spending four months in a Salvadoran maximum security prison, where he says he endured sexual abuse
Andry Hernandez arrived back in his hometown in the Venezuelan Andes after spending four months in a Salvadoran maximum security prison, where he says he endured sexual abuse
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
I’ll just sneak this in here.
July 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I’ll just sneak this in here.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
So, just to be clear, we have concentration camps and the admin vanishing people.
www.nbcnews.com/video/shorts...
www.nbcnews.com/video/shorts...
The family of Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay asylum-seeker from Venezuela, has not heard from him since he was sent to El Salvador
Andry Hernandez Romero, a make-up artist from Venezuela who sought asylum in the U.S., was sent to a megaprison in El Salvador because of his tattoos, his lawyers say. NBC News' David Noriega spoke to...
www.nbcnews.com
July 14, 2025 at 10:09 AM
So, just to be clear, we have concentration camps and the admin vanishing people.
www.nbcnews.com/video/shorts...
www.nbcnews.com/video/shorts...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Thinking of this plaque I came across at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibit on the art and lives of Hisako Hibi and Mine Okubo, two Japanese-American painters detained during World War II
July 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Thinking of this plaque I came across at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibit on the art and lives of Hisako Hibi and Mine Okubo, two Japanese-American painters detained during World War II
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
March 14th was the last time that Nelson Mendoza spoke to his son in ICE custody.
His son, Jean Claude Mendoza Peña, insisted that because he hadn't been given deportation documents to sign, he couldn't be deported to Venezuela.
He was right. The US sent him to El Salvador instead.
#BringThemBack
His son, Jean Claude Mendoza Peña, insisted that because he hadn't been given deportation documents to sign, he couldn't be deported to Venezuela.
He was right. The US sent him to El Salvador instead.
#BringThemBack
June 22, 2025 at 12:15 PM
March 14th was the last time that Nelson Mendoza spoke to his son in ICE custody.
His son, Jean Claude Mendoza Peña, insisted that because he hadn't been given deportation documents to sign, he couldn't be deported to Venezuela.
He was right. The US sent him to El Salvador instead.
#BringThemBack
His son, Jean Claude Mendoza Peña, insisted that because he hadn't been given deportation documents to sign, he couldn't be deported to Venezuela.
He was right. The US sent him to El Salvador instead.
#BringThemBack
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
The Japanese Americans at Manzanar appeared to be having a great time in Ansel Adams' photos so keeping American citizens in internment camps couldn't have been all that bad. 🙃
Photo shows controversial new sign at internment camp for Japanese Americans
The signs posted at Manzanar and other national parks have prompted serious concerns among advocates that the Trump administration is trying to “erase histories.”
www.sfchronicle.com
June 19, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Japanese Americans at Manzanar appeared to be having a great time in Ansel Adams' photos so keeping American citizens in internment camps couldn't have been all that bad. 🙃
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
#GVerse #MustWatch - Rep. Torres @repritchie.bsky.social is calling on the #Shitface47 Administration to return Andry José Hernández Romero, a 32-year-old Venezuelan makeup artist who fled his country because he was gay.
Now he’s trapped in an El-Salvador prison.
Share/Repost!!! his story:
Now he’s trapped in an El-Salvador prison.
Share/Repost!!! his story:
June 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
#GVerse #MustWatch - Rep. Torres @repritchie.bsky.social is calling on the #Shitface47 Administration to return Andry José Hernández Romero, a 32-year-old Venezuelan makeup artist who fled his country because he was gay.
Now he’s trapped in an El-Salvador prison.
Share/Repost!!! his story:
Now he’s trapped in an El-Salvador prison.
Share/Repost!!! his story:
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
We obtained lists of alleged gang members used by Venezuelan law enforcement and Interpol. Those lists include some 1,400 names.
None of the names of the 238 Venezuelan deportees matched those on the lists.
W/ @texastribune.org @cazadoresdefakenews.info, Alianza Rebelde Investiga
None of the names of the 238 Venezuelan deportees matched those on the lists.
W/ @texastribune.org @cazadoresdefakenews.info, Alianza Rebelde Investiga
Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes
Homeland Security records reveal that officials knew that more than half of the 238 deportees were labeled as having no criminal record in the U.S. and had only violated immigration laws.
www.propublica.org
June 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
We obtained lists of alleged gang members used by Venezuelan law enforcement and Interpol. Those lists include some 1,400 names.
None of the names of the 238 Venezuelan deportees matched those on the lists.
W/ @texastribune.org @cazadoresdefakenews.info, Alianza Rebelde Investiga
None of the names of the 238 Venezuelan deportees matched those on the lists.
W/ @texastribune.org @cazadoresdefakenews.info, Alianza Rebelde Investiga
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador without due process relies on a claim that U.S. intelligence agencies think is wrong.
Behind the scenes, Tulsi…
Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador without due process relies on a claim that U.S. intelligence agencies think is wrong.
Behind the scenes, Tulsi…
This is the most important story of the day.
A Tulsi aide ordered a senior analyst to redo an assessment of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and a gang after intelligence findings undercut the WH justification for deporting migrants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u...
A Tulsi aide ordered a senior analyst to redo an assessment of the relationship between Venezuela’s government and a gang after intelligence findings undercut the WH justification for deporting migrants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u...
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
www.nytimes.com
May 17, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador without due process relies on a claim that U.S. intelligence agencies think is wrong.
Behind the scenes, Tulsi…
Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to send Venezuelan migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador without due process relies on a claim that U.S. intelligence agencies think is wrong.
Behind the scenes, Tulsi…
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
The Dallas ICE office is involved in a mass removal effort targeting nearly 200 people — many without removal orders — scheduled to be deported to El Salvador today.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
April 18, 2025 at 10:14 PM
The Dallas ICE office is involved in a mass removal effort targeting nearly 200 people — many without removal orders — scheduled to be deported to El Salvador today.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
This is not just cruel – it is lawless. I refuse to stay quiet while families are being torn apart, and lives are being put at risk.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
So grateful for the opportunity to speak with @aliciamenendez.bsky.social @symonedsanders.bsky.social and @michaelsteele.bsky.social on @theweekendmsnbc.bsky.social
this morning about our @immdef.bsky.social client Andry’s disappearance and our ongoing fight to save his life. #FreeAndry
this morning about our @immdef.bsky.social client Andry’s disappearance and our ongoing fight to save his life. #FreeAndry
“If this disappearance, this forced rendition to El Salvador can happen to him, who is next?” President of the legal organization defending deported makeup artist Andry Hernandez Romero says no one is safe from deportation risks.
April 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
So grateful for the opportunity to speak with @aliciamenendez.bsky.social @symonedsanders.bsky.social and @michaelsteele.bsky.social on @theweekendmsnbc.bsky.social
this morning about our @immdef.bsky.social client Andry’s disappearance and our ongoing fight to save his life. #FreeAndry
this morning about our @immdef.bsky.social client Andry’s disappearance and our ongoing fight to save his life. #FreeAndry
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
"Pete Belton, 44, from Ilkeston says he was shocked to find his forearm featured in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document used to help identify alleged members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organisation." www.bbc.com/news/article...
British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document
A tattoo belonging to a man from Derbyshire has appeared in a US government document used to identify members of Tren de Aragua, a notorious Venezuelan gang, despite the man having no connection to th...
www.bbc.com
April 11, 2025 at 7:47 PM
"Pete Belton, 44, from Ilkeston says he was shocked to find his forearm featured in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document used to help identify alleged members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organisation." www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Andry did the right thing:
- Never committed a crime.
- Fled his home when persecuted for being LGBTQ & refusing to give in to an authoritarian regime.
- Sought asylum through a legal pathway.
- Found us to represent him in court.
So, why did the Trump admin forcibly remove him?
He had tattoos.
- Never committed a crime.
- Fled his home when persecuted for being LGBTQ & refusing to give in to an authoritarian regime.
- Sought asylum through a legal pathway.
- Found us to represent him in court.
So, why did the Trump admin forcibly remove him?
He had tattoos.
In Venezuela, Andry José Hernández Romero, who is gay and skeptical of the country’s authoritarian regime, was a target for abuse. He sought asylum in America—then was deported under the Alien Enemies Act.
The Makeup Artist Donald Trump Deported Under the Alien Enemies Act
The President has invoked the law to send Venezuelans to prison in El Salvador without due process—and, in many cases, under false pretenses.
www.newyorker.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Andry did the right thing:
- Never committed a crime.
- Fled his home when persecuted for being LGBTQ & refusing to give in to an authoritarian regime.
- Sought asylum through a legal pathway.
- Found us to represent him in court.
So, why did the Trump admin forcibly remove him?
He had tattoos.
- Never committed a crime.
- Fled his home when persecuted for being LGBTQ & refusing to give in to an authoritarian regime.
- Sought asylum through a legal pathway.
- Found us to represent him in court.
So, why did the Trump admin forcibly remove him?
He had tattoos.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Our @immdef.bsky.social team has agonized over Andry’s case & how to make sure he is not forgotten as he sits in a prison cell in El Salvador. We are grateful to @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social for shining a light on this injustice & for helping us make sure the world knows who Andry is.
A gay makeup artist named Andry José Hernández Romero was among the Venezuelans President Trump deported to El Salvador. Andry’s offense? Having the wrong tattoos.
The Makeup Artist Donald Trump Deported Under the Alien Enemies Act
The President has invoked the law to send Venezuelans to prison in El Salvador without due process—and, in many cases, under false pretenses.
www.newyorker.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Our @immdef.bsky.social team has agonized over Andry’s case & how to make sure he is not forgotten as he sits in a prison cell in El Salvador. We are grateful to @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social for shining a light on this injustice & for helping us make sure the world knows who Andry is.
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
Spoke to @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social and Noah Lanard who have spoken to family members or friends of 10 people who have been sent to the El Salvador gulag.
The number of Venezuelans who are totally innocent we sent there seems to be even greater than we imagined.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz4r...
The number of Venezuelans who are totally innocent we sent there seems to be even greater than we imagined.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz4r...
The Trump Administration Are Cruel And Heartless Bastards For This
YouTube video by The Bulwark
www.youtube.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Spoke to @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social and Noah Lanard who have spoken to family members or friends of 10 people who have been sent to the El Salvador gulag.
The number of Venezuelans who are totally innocent we sent there seems to be even greater than we imagined.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz4r...
The number of Venezuelans who are totally innocent we sent there seems to be even greater than we imagined.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz4r...
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
there are those in this world with only evil in their soul
March 31, 2025 at 6:27 AM
there are those in this world with only evil in their soul
Reposted by Your Neighborhood Venezuelan
That's the climax of the hearing, so I'll stop there. But I want to reiterate what Judge Brinkema showed about ICE's gang allegations — because it explains so much about the renditions to El Salvador
- "Terrible affidavit"
- "Very shoddy work"
- "Editorializing"
- Putting words in people's mouths."
- "Terrible affidavit"
- "Very shoddy work"
- "Editorializing"
- Putting words in people's mouths."
March 28, 2025 at 10:01 PM
That's the climax of the hearing, so I'll stop there. But I want to reiterate what Judge Brinkema showed about ICE's gang allegations — because it explains so much about the renditions to El Salvador
- "Terrible affidavit"
- "Very shoddy work"
- "Editorializing"
- Putting words in people's mouths."
- "Terrible affidavit"
- "Very shoddy work"
- "Editorializing"
- Putting words in people's mouths."