Houston judge orders U.S. to locate Venezuelan refugee seeker deported to El Salvador
Source: Houston Chronicle
LOCAL//IMMIGRATION
Houston judge orders U.S. to locate Venezuelan refugee seeker deported to El Salvador
By Sam Gonzlez Kelly,
Reporter
May 19, 2025
Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino
Courtesy of Lisbeth Carolina Sanguino
A Houston judge on Monday ordered the U.S. government to track down a Venezuelan man who is believed to have been deported to El Salvador after government attorneys told the court they did not know where he was.
Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino, 24, was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last fall after arriving in Houston as a refugee, but his family and attorneys stopped hearing from him on March 15 as his asylum case was awaiting a decision. Days later, his name appeared on a flight manifest published by CBS News identifying the 238 Venezuelan men who had been deported to a mega prison in El Salvador. ... Neither his family nor his legal team has had contact with him since.
Agelviz Sanguino's family filed suit earlier this month alleging that his right to due process had been violated and demanding his return. On Monday, Judge Keith Ellison of the United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas issued an order giving the government 24 hours to confirm Agelviz Sanguino's location and health, and explain to the court the "legal basis for his continued detention." ... Ellison also ruled that the government must reestablish communication between Agelviz-Sanguino and his attorneys within two days and provide them with contact information for the prison where he is being held.
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Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino
Courtesy of Lisbeth Carolina San/Courtesy of Lisbeth Carolina Sanguino
Ellison gave the government three days to file a report detailing the steps they have taken to comply with his order. ... If the government claims it can't facilitate communication with Agelviz Sanguino due to "lack of control over El Salvadoran facilities," he ruled, they must prove that they made a genuine effort to "secure cooperation" and disclose any agreements with El Salvadoran officials related to his detention.
{snip}
May 19, 2025
Sam Gonzlez Kelly
REPORTER
Sam Gonzlez Kelly is a demographics reporter for the Houston Chronicle, focusing on issues of race, class, migration and inequality in one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States. His work aims to show how Houston is changing politically, culturally and economically, and how the choices made by local decision makers ripple through different communities.
A Chicago native, Sam joined the Chronicle in 2021 and covered marginalized communities for two years before taking a role as education reporter, covering the Houston Independent School District's first year under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. He has a bachelor's degree from Pomona College and worked at the Chicago Sun-Times prior to arriving in Houston.
Read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/immigration/article/houston-judge-venezuelan-deportation-20335757.php
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Ryan Goodman
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1/ This sure sounds like the international human rights law definition of a disappearance:
"Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Rodriguez said he has 'no reason to doubt' the claim that Agelviz Sanguino was in El Salvador, but that he did not have information as to his whereabouts."
Houston judge orders U.S. to find Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador
A Houston judge ordered the U.S. to locate a Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador and to restore contact with his family and attorneys.
www.houstonchronicle.com
May 19, 2025 at 10:27 PM
1/ This sure sounds like the international human rights law definition of a disappearance:
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) 2025-05-20T02:27:07.364Z
"Assistant U.S. Attorney Jimmy Rodriguez said he has 'no reason to doubt' the claim that Agelviz Sanguino was in El Salvador, but that he did not have information as to his whereabouts."
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