A Venezuelan asylum-seeker was arrested, publicly labeled as a gang member, and deported without due process, raising serious questions about the accuracy of immigration enforcement tactics. Jesús Escalona Mújicas, a 48-year-old construction worker with no criminal history, was apprehended on April 9 by a joint team of ICE, FBI and Texas DPS officers who claimed he was a "documented Tren de Aragua gang member."
Investigation by the Texas Observer revealed troubling inconsistencies in the government's case. The DPS arrest report misidentified Escalona Mújicas as Salvadoran rather than Venezuelan, and indicated he did not appear in Texas' gang database. When asked for evidence supporting their claims, ICE refused to provide proof, stating only that they were "confident in our law enforcement's intelligence, and we aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane." Friends and former employers in Venezuela vouched for Escalona Mújicas, describing him as "a very hard-working man" who had worked for a Venezuelan Pepsi affiliate for nearly two decades.
The arrest appears connected to the Trump administration's revival of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, being used to expedite deportations without due process. Experts interviewed expressed alarm at the flawed process. "It appears that almost everything about this report is false," said Kristin Etter from the Texas Immigration Law Council, who warned the gang label "could follow him, really, the rest of his life." After his deportation to Venezuela in May, Escalona Mújicas has since relocated to Spain to rebuild his life.
Previously:
• European tourist denied entry to US over JD Vance meme on his phone
• ICE deported 70 US citizens, triples budget to $28.7B
