Migrants send SOS from Texas detention as deportation to El Salvador nears
Migrants raise SOS plea in Texas over fears of being sent to Salvadoran prison (Screenshot: YouTube)
Detained Venezuelans formed a massive SOS sign at a Texas immigration facility in a desperate plea for help, NBC News reports.
At the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, 31 Venezuelan migrants arranged themselves on the ground to spell out "SOS," hoping to alert the world to their plight.
This dramatic act came after dozens received notices from immigration authorities claiming they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The men deny any such affiliation, and families insist the accusations are false. "They're making false accusations about me," said 19-year-old detainee Jeferson Escalona. "I don't belong to any gang."
Life inside detention (Screenshot: YouTube)
Escalona, a former Venezuelan police officer, said he believes US officials misinterpreted photos on his phone showing hand signs common in his home country.
His request to return to Venezuela voluntarily was denied. Another detainee, 24-year-old construction worker Diover Millan, was transferred to Bluebonnet in mid-April.
A Department of Homeland Security official called him a "documented" gang member but gave no evidence. His wife described his growing desperation, saying he prays to God every time he walks out into the detention yard.
Court intervention delays deportation but danger remains
On April 18, the men were loaded onto a bus headed for deportation, but were unexpectedly returned after the US Supreme Court issued a temporary block.
Still, the threat looms large. If the legal stay is lifted, many could be deported to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, where the Trump administration has already sent at least 137 Venezuelans under the rarely used 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
Inside Bluebonnet, detainees describe harsh conditions, limited food, and constant fear.
According to Millan's wife, the men take turns sleeping so someone can warn others if deportation officers arrive. "He's desperate," she said.
A detention center spokesperson claimed meals meet caloric standards, but detainees' families say otherwise.
In a recorded visit from an ICE officer, the migrants asked how they could be labeled "enemy aliens" without any criminal history.
"If he gets removed under the Alien Enemies Act, then that court date doesn't exist," the official explained — meaning deportation could bypass the legal process entirely.
Meanwhile, Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador — highlights what's at stake. Despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering his return, he remains jailed there. Trump admitted he could bring him back, but bluntly said he won't.
