Imagine for a moment you’re an illegal immigrant working in Utah.
In 2023 you leave Venezuela and cross into the U.S. in order to provide money for your wife and son. You’re immediately apprehended by border agents who give you a document for a court case in 2025. Earlier this year, while working for DoorDash, you are detained by ICE agents.
For the next month and a half you are transferred from Utah to Washington to Texas. You’re in touch with your family in Venezuela, and everyone is looking forward to you coming home.
Then suddenly your calls stop. No one knows where you are. Your family is distraught.
You have disappeared.
This is exactly what happened recently to Alirio Fuenmayor.
Scouring social media, his family confirmed their worst fears. They recognized Alirio as one of the 238 Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador under the auspices of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
No criminal charges, no due process. The U.S. government states he is a member of the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang, but won’t provide any information to support this claim due to state secrets. Alirio is imprisoned indefinitely in a maximum security prison with no contact with the outside world, no representation, and no idea if he will ever be released.
A majority of Americans agree we need to fix our immigration system, but this is not the way.
We as a nation are better than this. We hold dear the values of justice, compassion and integrity, and yet we have allowed someone to be “disappeared” from our state.
Shame on us.
We need to voice our opposition. We need to act courageously. We need to demand due process for those accused of crimes.
It is the right way, it is the American way.
Chris Morgan, Lt. colonel, USAF (retired), Ogden
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