Whereabouts of Venezuelan Man Unknown After Deportation: 'This Case Shocks The Conscience'

Ricardo Prada Vasquez, a Venezuelan migrant, was delivering food in January when a fateful turn landed him in Canada. When attempting to re-enter the U.S. he was detained by immigration authorities, who ordered his deportation. In March, he told a friend he would soon be sent back to his home country. But his whereabouts are unknown since then.

Concretely, on March 15 Prada told a friend in Chicago he was among a number of detainees housed in Texas who expected to be sent back to Venezuela. That evening, the Trump administration flew three planes carrying Venezuelan migrants from the Texas facility to El Salvador, where they have been ever since.

But unlike the 238 migrants who have been identified and locked up at the CECOT maximum-security prison in El Salvador, Prada has not been heard from or seen, not showing up in photos or videos released by authorities, The New York Times notes.

"He has simply disappeared," said Javier, his friend in Chicago and the last person with whom Prada had contact. He spoke about Prada on condition that he be identified only by his middle name out of fear that he too could be targeted by the immigration authorities.

Prada immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela due to the political, economic and humanitarian crisis plaguing the country. He set out north over land in 2024 and was admitted at a port of entry on Nov. 29, 2024 after waiting in Mexico to obtain an appointment through an app, CBP One, which the Biden administration had encouraged migrants to use in order to reduce chaotic crossings at the southern border.

Prada joined Javier in Chicago, where he remained for a little over a month until he decided to move to Detroit, according to his friend. The migrant also has a 4-year-old son, Alessandro, who lives in Venezuela with his mom but frequently stayed in touch with.

"Ricardo's story by itself is incredibly tragic— and we don't know how many Ricardos there are," said Ben Levey, a staff attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center who tried to locate Prada. ICE officials later confirmed that he was deported but did not divulge his destination.

The case has raised alarm among immigration advocates and legal scholars, who say Prada's case suggests a new level of disarray in the immigration system, as officials face pressure to rapidly fulfill President Trump's pledge of mass deportations.

"This case shocks the conscience," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration scholar at Cornell Law School. "I have not heard of a disappearance like this in my 40-plus years of practicing and teaching immigration law."

"This case represents a black hole where due process no longer exists," he added.