DETROIT — A 32-year-old Venezuelan national who was deported last month following his attempt in January to enter the United States through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel was flown to El Salvador after he was identified as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang who had violated an immigration order, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The federal agency posted on the social media site X late Tuesday that Ricardo Prada Vásquez was flagged by the government "as a designated a public safety threat as a confirmed member of TdA" who was "in violation of his conditions of admission."

"Prada was apprehended and transferred to ICE Michigan for detention," according to the X post. "On Feb. 27, an immigration judge ordered Prada removed from the U.S. On March 15, Prada was removed to El Salvador."

The Department of Homeland Security post began with the word "FALSE" in response to a New York Times story published Tuesday that claimed Prada could not be found on a list of deportees. The article said Prada didn't appear on a list of 238 people who were deported to El Salvador on March 15.

The post by the federal agency was the latest volley in multiple ongoing controversies over how President Donald Trump's administration has handled its plan to deport hundreds of thousands of convicted criminals who are in the country illegally. Tren de Aragua, or TdA, is a gang that Trump has specifically targeted in his latest waves of deportations.

“TdA is not a street gang. It is a highly structured terrorist organization that put down roots in our country during the prior administration,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement after a five-count superseding indictment was unsealed Wednesday against a Venezuelan national in Texas.

Critics have accused the Republican administration of moving too quickly with deportations and identifying people as gang members without proof. Supporters have said Trump is carrying out the will of voters and that Democratic former President Joe Biden left behind a broken immigration system that is causing missteps during the early rollout of the deportation plan.

Azadeh Erfani, director of policy for the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center, told The Detroit News on Wednesday that the X post by the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Prada is "one of many Venezuelans who are being held, at U.S. taxpayer expense, in horrific conditions in a foreign country and with no contact to the outside world."

El Salvador is home to the Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison that recently has been visited by several Democratic lawmakers to protest the deportation and imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had lived in the United States for more than a decade. U.S. officials said Garcia was determined by multiple courts to be a member of the MS-13 gang, which, along with Tren de Aragua, was designated as a terrorist organization on Feb. 20 by the State Department.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to help facilitate Garcia's return, although the Trump administration said it doesn't have the power to bring him back.

Advocate: Story forces disclosure

Erfani said the New York Times story forced federal officials to reveal Prada's location.

“It has been more than five weeks since the Trump administration disappeared Mr. Prada Vásquez," Erfani said in a Wednesday statement to The News. "Finally ... in a social media post responding to reporting by The New York Times that brought light to his story, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security admitted the administration had sent Mr. Prada Vásquez to El Salvador."

According to the New York Times story, Prada worked in Detroit delivering food. The newspaper reported that Prada had picked up a McDonald's order and erroneously turned onto the Ambassador Bridge, which "is a common mistake even for those who live in the Michigan border city."

But according to the DHS X post, Prada was arrested at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

"On Jan. 15, Prada was encountered at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel in Detroit, Michigan attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada and was referred to secondary inspection," the DHS said. "Further investigation resulted in Prada being designated a public safety threat as a confirmed member of TdA and in violation of his conditions of admission."

Prada failed to appear before an immigration judge, as ordered when he entered the United States on Nov. 29, 2024, at the Brownsville, Texas, Port of Entry via a CBP (Customs and Border Protection) One app appointment, according to the DHS post.

"Prada was paroled into the US and served with a notice to appear before an immigration judge," the DHS statement said.

The CBP One app, introduced under Biden, allowed migrants without proper documentation to schedule appointments at ports of entry and temporarily stay in the U.S. legally. Trump revoked the status of more than 900,000 migrants who had used the app when he assumed the Oval Office Jan. 20.

Prada stopped before Trump took office

Five days before Trump took office, Prada was stopped at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, according to the DHS X post.

State Sen. Jim Runestad of White Lake, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said Trump is "doing what the voters want him to do, which is to deport the illegal immigrants Joe Biden let into this country."

"The New York Times story said (Prada) was a delivery driver; well, how did he get a driver's license if he wasn't here legally?" Runestad said. "Also, he wasn't supposed to leave the United States, and he did. There are so many issues with this. ... I think Trump's doing everything in his power to do what he told people he was going to do, which is try to get as many of these people who are here illegally to leave the country."

Christine Sauve, a spokesperson for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, told The News the way the Prada case was handled isn't unique and said deportations are being handled haphazardly.

"We are concerned about the pattern we are seeing when individuals are detained by (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)," Sauve said in a statement. "There is a complete lack of transparency and oversight. CPB detention sites are like a black box where no one can find you.

"In the case of Mr. Prada, it appears a DHS official has posted on social media that he was removed to El Salvador on March 15th," Sauve said. "Mr. Prada wasn’t able to secure legal counsel in time, and his experience shows what happens under the speed of the current administration's deportation machine. The few legal access programs that existed, like our Helpdesk in Immigration Court, have been terminated. The oversight offices have been eliminated, so there is no one to take or investigate complaints.

"What we are witnessing is an overall curtailing of due process," Sauve said. "No matter who you are or where you’re from, we all deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. Our constitution still guarantees due process for everyone, and all persons have a right to speak with a lawyer and have their case heard in court."

Michigan Republican chair Runestad said there are bound to be problems because he said Biden purposely overtaxed the country's immigration system.

"The fact that these deportations are not being handled perfectly is because Biden didn't want a functioning immigration system set up," Runestad said. "The administration is working their way through this, in a system that'll have some errors in the beginning, but in the end, they'll get it worked out."

Erfani of the National Immigrant Justice Center said the Prada case "is only the latest sign that we are living in an environment of mounting authoritarianism, under an administration that is trampling basic principles of fairness and humanity.

"Now that we know Mr. Prada Vásquez’s location, we call on the Trump administration to confirm his well-being and return him to the United States to ensure he has access to proper due process," he said.

________

©2025 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.