Venezuelan Detainees at Bluebonnet Send SOS Amid Deportation Fears

Detainees at the Bluebonnet immigrant detention center in Anson, Texas, sent a distress signal this week by forming the letters S-O-S in the dirt yard. Using a drone from Reuters, 31 men spelled out their plea for help. Just ten days earlier, many Venezuelan detainees received notices that they were accused of being part of a gang called Tren de Aragua and at risk of deportation.

Despite their families saying the men are not gang members, immigration officials still prepared to deport them. On Friday, April 18, they were put on a bus heading to a nearby airport, but the bus turned around after a last-minute Supreme Court decision stopped the deportations.

The Bluebonnet detention center is about 200 miles from Dallas and is run by a private company under a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It usually holds around 846 detainees each day. Although ICE did not allow reporters inside, aerial photos captured detainees wearing red jumpsuits, which means they are considered high-risk.

One detainee, Diover Millan, is a 24-year-old who had been working in construction. Another, Jeferson Escalona, 19, was previously a police officer in Venezuela. Both deny any gang involvement, even though immigration officials allege otherwise. Escalona mentioned that he fears for his safety and wants to return to Venezuela but was denied.

The men live in fear since their failed deportation attempt. Millan’s wife shared that he and the others are so scared they take turns sleeping, worried they might be put on another bus to El Salvador. Food is scarce, and detainees are losing hope as they wonder about their future.

On April 26, an immigration official visited and explained that the U.S. is trying to classify them as “alien enemies,” which means they could be removed without a court hearing. This confuses many of the men, as they don’t have criminal records and worry about being sent to a dangerous prison in El Salvador. Millan has an asylum case pending, but it is uncertain what will happen before his next court date on May 1.