OCEANSIDE — The North County LGBTQ Resource Center has named a gay Venezuelan makeup artist imprisoned in El Salvador as the honorary grand marshal for this year’s Pride by the Beach festival and is calling for his immediate return to the United States.
Andry José Hernández Romero came to the U.S. seeking asylum from Venezuela, where he allegedly fled persecution based on his sexual orientation and political views, according to his attorneys.
After traveling through the treacherous Darién Gap — a 60-mile stretch of dense jungle between Colombia and Panama — Hernández Romero reached Mexico and secured an appointment to seek asylum at a legal U.S. border crossing near San Diego. He was taken into custody as his case was processed.
Instead of appearing before an immigration court as planned, Hernández Romero became one of 238 Venezuelan immigrants sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a maximum-security prison. The transfers were carried out under the Trump administration using the Alien Enemies Act, a law not used since World War II, to detain individuals labeled as terrorists or violent gang members.
Photographs by Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger captured Hernández Romero and hundreds of others arriving at CECOT in March.
According to his attorneys, U.S. immigration officials falsely accused Hernández Romero of gang affiliation based on tattoos of crowns, which officials alleged were tied to the Tren de Aragua gang. His lawyer, Lindsay Toczylowski, told 60 Minutes the tattoos are easily explained by Hernández Romero’s work in the beauty pageant industry and that the crowns were positioned above the names of his parents.
The North County LGBTQ Resource Center said Hernández Romero is “a victim of xenophobic, anti-LGBTQ+ immigration policies intensified under the Trump administration.”
“Despite having no criminal record and seeking refuge through legal channels, he was wrongfully accused of gang affiliation and deported from the United States without due process,” said Executive Director Max Disposti.
This year’s Pride by the Beach festival carries the theme “B.R.A.V.E: Bold, Resilient, Authentic, Voice Equality,” emphasizing courage in the face of injustice.
“Andry’s story is one of unimaginable resilience, and his lived experience serves as a powerful reminder of why we continue to fight for liberation, dignity, and human rights for all,” Disposti said. “In appointing Andry as our grand marshal, we uplift his voice and the countless unheard voices of LGBTQ+ immigrants who are criminalized for simply existing. His story represents the intersection of queer liberation and immigrant justice, both of which are at the heart of our mission.”
The resource center is encouraging the public to sign a Human Rights Campaign petition calling for Hernández Romero, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and others deported under similar circumstances to be brought back to the United States to receive due process.
