{"id":40887,"date":"2025-04-23T13:09:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T20:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=40887"},"modified":"2025-04-23T13:09:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T20:09:16","slug":"sf-pride-defends-decision-not-to-recognize-gay-deported-migrant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/sf-pride-defends-decision-not-to-recognize-gay-deported-migrant\/","title":{"rendered":"SF Pride defends decision not to recognize gay deported migrant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li>by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebar.com\/search?author=1&amp;searchBox=John+Ferrannini&amp;advancedSearch=1&amp;submit=search&amp;search_for=exact+phrase\">John Ferrannini<\/a>, Assistant Editor&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:%20jferr1995@gmail.com\"><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tuesday, April 15, 2025 (ebar.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ebar.com\/image\/stories\/720\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andry Jose Hern\u00e1ndez Romero is a make-up artist from Capacho in Venezuela, famed for its epiphany celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo: Wilinton Barco\/Reuters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The San Francisco Pride organization is defending its decision not to recognize a gay deported migrant as an honorary grand marshal in this year\u2019s parade. Instead, the organization will make Andry Jose Hern\u00e1ndez Romero\u2019s case and those of other migrants a focal point of its Pride Summit in June.<br><br>Hern\u00e1ndez Romero was whisked to an infamous Salvadorian prison by the Trump administration. It has prompted widespread outrage within the LGBTQ community and calls for his return by various community leaders and elected officials.<br><br>Longtime gay leaders Cleve Jones and Nicole Murray Ramirez have requested that Pride organizations across the country name Hern\u00e1ndez Romero, a makeup artist, an honorary grand marshal in their parades. To date, only SF Pride has responded to the Bay Area Reporter\u2019s requests for comment.<br><br>After a weekend of online criticism of both the Bay Area Reporter, for reporting on SF Pride\u2019s initial denial of the request by Jones and Murray Ramirez, and SF Pride, for not recognizing Hern\u00e1ndez Romero, Executive Director Suzanne Ford issued a statement Tuesday, April 15.<br><br>First, she reiterated that Hern\u00e1ndez Romero \u201cshould be released immediately.\u201d<br><br>\u201cAfter receiving a text from a community member demanding SF Pride name Jos\u00e9 an honorary grand marshal, I shared that request with our board president,\u201d Ford stated. \u201cWe deeply honor the sentiment behind that call. At the time, we felt the best thing we could do was issue a public statement calling for his release.\u201d<br><br>Afterward, Ford said they \u201cconsulted with members of our board, including those from queer migrant communities. We also reached out to other queer leaders of migrant organizations here in the Bay Area. What we heard was clear: the issue deserves more attention than a symbolic gesture \u2013 it requires deep, sustained action and input from those living this reality every day.\u201d<br><br>In conclusion, they decided to \u201cpartner with Michelle Meow to bring queer and migrant leaders together so that the broader community can hear directly what is being done and what resources are needed. We will also dedicate a significant portion of the Human Rights Summit on Thursday of Pride Week to highlight this important issue and center the voices of impacted communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read the rest of this story below<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>and never miss another!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sign up today&nbsp;to receive trusted LGBTQ news in your inbox.Submit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Human Rights Summit takes place annually. Last year, amid spirited debate in the community over the Israel-Hamas War and how Pride celebrations across the U.S. should address it, the issue went unmentioned during the 2024 summit, as the B.A.R.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebar.com\/story\/334273\/redirect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ford\u2019s statement concluded, \u201cThis is how we are supposed to tackle issues: Speak with the affected community. Listen to how they want you to show up. Accept criticism with love and humility. Then, take action with responsibility. I know that not everyone will always agree with my decisions in this role, but this work is not about me. It is about the people that we serve. I have the greatest job in the world that allows me to fight injustice every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reached for comment via phone April 15, after Ford\u2019s statement was released, Jones had no further comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the B.A.R.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebar.com\/story\/154050\/News\/LGBTQ%20Agenda%3A%20Gay%20rights%20icons%20call%20for%20community%20to%20fight%20for%20makeup%20artist%20deported%20to%20El%20Salvador%20prison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first reported<\/a>&nbsp;April 11, Jones, who co-founded the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Murray Ramirez, a San Diego-based gay activist who, as the Queen Mother I of the Americas and Nicole the Great, is the titular head of the Imperial Court system, had asked Pride organizations across the country to name Hern\u00e1ndez Romero, 31, an honorary grand marshal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hern\u00e1ndez Romero was featured on CBS News\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/venezuelan-migrants-deportations-el-salvador-prison-60-minutes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">60 Minutes<\/a>\u201d on April 6. He was one of 238 Venezuelan migrants flown to the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in El Salvador several weeks ago after the Trump administration made an agreement with Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele to house them there. Human Rights Watch reports that the prison is the site of human rights abuses. Hern\u00e1ndez Romero had been detained in a San Diego immigration jail since last year, when he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to attend a pre-arranged asylum hearing in the Southern California city, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-14562387\/Gay-makeup-artist-deported-El-Salvador-Trump-tattoos-Venezuela-gang.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a>&nbsp;reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jones told the B.A.R. on April 11 that Ford told him, \u201cThere was pushback about grand marshal being used that way.\u201d Ford had issued a statement to the B.A.R. April 10 decrying the treatment of Hern\u00e1ndez Romero in response to a B.A.R. question about if Pride would be open to naming him an honorary grand marshal. According to Jones, she told him she hoped the statement helped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am very disappointed that SF Pride has chosen to take no substantive action to try to save this man\u2019s life,\u201d Jones previously said. \u201cIt\u2019s shameful and sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ford did not return an April 11 phone call after Jones\u2019 statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But she did post on Facebook that day, seemingly referring to the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am fucking exhausted,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe outrage that we have the audacity to not agree with someone\u2019s preferred method of protest. Where was all of your methods and outrage when trans people were being killed? Will anyone be calling me tonight telling me how to resond [sic] to that? It is time that we quit cancelling each other over how we choose to fight. It is enough that we agree on what we are fighting. This division does nothing for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reached for comment by phone April 11, Murray Ramirez responded, \u201cAre you kidding me?\u201d<br>\u201cI think with San Francisco being, like, the gay capital of the world, it\u2019s just a disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murray Ramirez said, \u201cI\u2019m very disappointed and hurt, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murray Ramirez said other Pride organizations may be signing on to their request as early as this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Response has been \u201cvery positive,\u201d but, \u201cI respect they have procedures and all that,\u201d Murray Ramirez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hern\u00e1ndez Romero has received support from state political leaders. The Los Angeles Times reported April 10 that Governor Gavin Newsom had sent a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-04-10\/newsom-asks-trump-administration-to-return-venezuelan-immigrant-to-the-u-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a>&nbsp;requesting that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem bring Hern\u00e1ndez Romero to the U.S. for a judge to evaluate his case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The San Francisco Democratic Party is expected to discuss and possibly act on a resolution at its April 23 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gays Without Borders held a rally outside the Salvadoran Consulate in San Francisco last Saturday in support of Hern\u00e1ndez Romero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Trump \u2018all for\u2019 deporting Americans to El Salvador, he says<\/strong><br>The detention issue comes as the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled April 10 that the Trump administration must \u201cfacilitate\u201d the return of another immigrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom it conceded was deported by mistake. The Trump administration nonetheless argued in court that because he was no longer in U.S. custody, the judicial system could not order his return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Abrego Garcia also had not been charged or convicted of a crime and is married to an American citizen. He also had a permit from the Department of Homeland Security to legally work in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The justices also ruled that the administration \u201cbe prepared to share\u201d the efforts it\u2019s been ordered to make to return Abrego Garcia. The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling sent the matter back to Judge Paula Xinis, a Maryland federal district court judge, who ordered that the government had to issue a release plan for Abrego Garcia by 6:30 a.m. Pacific time April 11. Xinis later extended the deadline to 8:30 a.m. but denied a government motion to push it to Wednesday. (Xinis was appointed by former President Barack Obama.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wusa9.com\/article\/news\/politics\/federal-fallout\/trump-administration-defies-judges-order-to-provide-information-about-mistakenly-deported-maryland-man-kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-cecot\/65-12bfe507-7dea-4f1b-adf2-92d22d9f9cee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WUSA-TV<\/a>&nbsp;reported that an hour after the deadline the justice department stated, \u201cDefendants are unable to provide the information requested by the Court on the impracticable deadline set by the Court hours after the Supreme Court issued its order.\u201d In court Friday, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew C. Ensign stated that the department would be able to respond by April 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a court filing April 13, Evan C. Katz, the assistant director of enforcement and removal operations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stated the government\u2019s contention that \u201cAlthough Abrego Garcia has an order of removal issued by an immigration judge, I understand that he should not have been removed to El Salvador because the immigration judge had also granted Abrego Garcia withholding of removal to El Salvador. However, I also understand that Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for withholding of removal because of his membership in MS-13 which is now a designated foreign terrorist organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Abrego Garcia was accused of being a gang member in 2019, which led to an arrest while he was working as a day laborer; however, he was not charged.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Abrego Garcia\u2019s attorneys filed a motion in response April 15, charging the government with ignoring the Supreme Court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe government contends that the term \u2018facilitate\u2019 is limited to \u2018remov[ing] any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien\u2019s ability to return here,\u2019\u201d the motion states. \u201cNot so. The Supreme Court ordered the government \u2018to \u2018facilitate\u2019 Abrego Garcia\u2019s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.\u2019 That order is rendered null if construed solely to require removing \u2018domestic obstacles.\u2019 To give any meaning to the Supreme Court\u2019s order, the government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia. To date, the government has not done so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would seem that\u2019s the president\u2019s intention based on his public statements April 14. Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele was visiting the White House, and said he won\u2019t be returning Abrego Garcia. Nobody has ever been released from the CECOT, nor does the government of El Salvador have plans to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?&#8221; he said. \u201cThe question is preposterous.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump, on the other hand, contradicted the Justice Department\u2019s earlier admission that Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake. He also floated the idea of sending U.S. citizens to CECOT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places,\u201d Trump said to Bukele. \u201cIt\u2019s not big enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked by reporters, Trump said he would deport Americans to El Salvador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m all for it,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause we can do things with [Bukele] for less money and have great security. And we have a huge prison population, we have a huge number of prisons, and then we have the private prisons, and some are operated as well I guess and some aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a court hearing April 15, Xinis said &#8220;what the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing,&#8221; to bring back Abrego Garcia. Trump administration officials may be forced to testify under oath on the matter,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/04\/15\/judge-launches-inquiry-into-trump-administrations-refusal-to-seek-return-of-wrongly-deported-man-00291942\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico<\/a>&nbsp;reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding,\u201d the judge said, according to Politico. \u201cThere are no business hours while we do this. \u2026 Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments. I\u2019m usually pretty good about things like that in my court, but not this time. So, I expect all hands on deck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking on the Abrego Garcia case, Murray Ramirez said, \u201cThe other man, who is married, he\u2019s getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. But people forget real quick. This situation is unlike any. I understand why his family fears for his life. We\u2019re not gonna forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration is using a novel interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as its legal basis, as its presidential powers had in the past only been thought to apply in wartime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The high court ruled&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-deportations-el-salvador-9988b667199e1b02fc0a6a83570225c1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">earlier this week<\/a>&nbsp;that the act can be used to deport Venezuelan migrants, but that they must have \u201creasonable time\u201d to get a court hearing beforehand. It did not rule on the flights that already transported the migrants to El Salvador, such as the one Hernandez Romero was on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The B.A.R. reached out April 9 to organizations that are producing upcoming Pride festivities in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, and Houston, the nation\u2019s fourth largest city. Only SF Pride responded. Sacramento Pride also returned comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sacramento Pride, which is June 14-15, is put on by the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. David Heitstuman, a gay man who is the center&#8217;s CEO, told the B.A.R. April 16 that anyone can make a nomination for grand marshal on the center&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/saccenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a>, but to date nobody has nominated Hern\u00e1ndez Romero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Happy to consider a nomination if one is made, certainly,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SF Dems to vote on resolution<\/strong><br>Michael Nguyen, a gay man who is on the San Francisco Democratic Party County Central Committee (the governing body of the local party) plans to introduce a resolution condemning the extrajudicial deportations at its April 23 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFifty years ago this month, my parents escaped an oppressive regime known for disappearing dissidents,\u201d Nguyen stated, referring to the communist government of Vietnam. \u201cI am heartbroken that lawful immigrants have been similarly detained, disappeared and deported. We must use whatever power and platform we have to fight for our rights under the Constitution, which includes due process and the freedom to speak out against this lawlessness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration alleged that the migrants are members of the Tren de Aragua gang. (CBS News could not find U.S. criminal records in 75% of the cases.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Hern\u00e1ndez Romero\u2019s case, the government argued in court that crown tattoos he had were evidence of gang affiliation. Hern\u00e1ndez Romero has a crown tattoo on each wrist, with the words \u201cMom\u201d and \u201cDad.\u201d His hometown of Capacho in Venezuela is known for its celebration of Epiphany, the Christian holy day when three wise men visited Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger told CBS News that he was at the prison site when the migrants arrived, and that he heard a young man say, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a gang member. I&#8217;m gay. I&#8217;m a stylist.&#8221; He was crying for his mother while he was slapped and had his head shaved, Holsinger continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hern\u00e1ndez Romero left Venezuela in May 2024, citing his political views and homosexuality as reasons to seek asylum. Venezuela is run by a dictator, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, whom the U.S. contends illegally claimed the presidency of the country after losing an election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The B.A.R. reached out to Hern\u00e1ndez Romero\u2019s attorneys but has not heard back. They contend their client is innocent and that it\u2019s illegal for the U.S. government to deport anyone to a foreign prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andry Jose Hern\u00e1ndez Romero is a make-up artist from Capacho in Venezuela, famed for its epiphany celebrations. Photo: Wilinton Barco\/Reuters The San Francisco Pride organization is defending its decision not to recognize a gay deported migrant as an honorary grand marshal in this year\u2019s parade. Instead, the organization will make&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/04\/23\/sf-pride-defends-decision-not-to-recognize-gay-deported-migrant\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40888,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40887\/revisions\/40888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}