A Venezuelan migrant was lured into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, and now fears he will be deported to El Salvador’s mega-prison for terrorists, his concerned colleague told Newsweek.

Jorge Reinaldo Molleda, a 22-year-old asylum-seeker from Venezuela, is currently in ICE detention after receiving a call from ICE instructing him to report the following day to sign some documents, according Karla Castaneda, the executive director of the Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project.

Newsweek has contacted ICE for comment.

Upon his arrival at the offices on February 20, he was informed that his case was undergoing “custody redetermination,” leading to his detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, she said. “He is very afraid about being sent to El Salvador.”

Molleda, who has worked with Castaneda at the workers’ rights project in Portland, said that ICE has been engaging in “irregular check-ins,” a tactic where individuals with open asylum cases are called under the pretense of routine paperwork but are then detained.

“ICE called him and was like, Hey, I just need you to come and sign a couple of documents, and then you should be all set. Here in Portland, that’s how they’ve been picking up people,” Castaneda said. “They are calling folks that need to present themselves and telling them they need to do one thing, but then they end up detaining them.”

Castaneda, who is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipient, also expressed concern that these enforcement practices disproportionately impact specific groups, particularly young men from Venezuela, further exacerbating fears within immigrant communities.

“It’s very disheartening to see all this fear that this administration is putting into our community and specifically that they are targeting Venezuelans and Venezuelan young men. You know, Jorge is a young Venezuelan man who has very dark skin and therefore is now being targeted,” she said.

Was He Targeted For Being Venezuelan?

The Trump administration deported hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador’s mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Officials claimed these individuals were part of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan crime syndicate.

Newsweek is not aware of any evidence linking Molleda to the syndicate, other than the fact he is Venezuelan and Castaneda told Newsweek he had not been directly accused of being a member.

Reports emerged that some of those deported are nonviolent Venezuelan migrants with no gang ties. Many families recognized their relatives in videos released by El Salvador’s government, leading to concerns about the deportees’ treatment and the lack of due process.

Mirelys Casique’s son, Francisco García, a 24-year-old barber, was among those deported. He had informed his mother of his impending deportation, but she was unaware he would be sent to El Salvador until she recognized him in the footage.

Fears are now growing within immigrant communities that they could be sent to the notorious prison under Trump’s hard-line plans to deport millions of migrants who have no legal status in the U.S.

Fleeing To Safety

Molleda fled Venezuela to escape violence and political instability; he first sought refuge in Colombia and Ecuador. Facing continued threats, he eventually traveled through the Darién Gap, a treacherous migration route connecting South and Central America. His decision to come to the U.S. was driven by the pursuit of safety and the hope of supporting his family.

In a message sent from detention and shared with Newsweek, Molleda expressed gratitude for the support he has received amid the difficult circumstances.

“First of all, I want to thank God for giving me peace in the midst of all this. I also want to thank all of you for the support you’ve given me before and the support you’re giving me now. I’m also grateful for those beautiful messages of encouragement, because they make me feel like I have someone by my side even though my whole family is so far away … and thanks as well to everyone who is sending me messages of support,” Molleda said.

Molleda’s family in Venezuela remains deeply concerned about his safety, according to Castaneda.

“He’s just so fearful, and his family in Venezuela calls, and they will ask me, like, is it better if he just self-supports? We don’t want him to disappear, and I constantly have to reassure them that we need to fight for him. And I constantly have to reassure Jorge that we can’t give up,” Castaneda said.

A Model Citizen

Since arriving in the U.S, Molleda has become involved in his local community. He is a church member and has participated in various community-led initiatives. Since March 2024, he has been involved with the Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project, where he has engaged in leadership and job training programs, including completing an irrigation program in partnership with Portland Community College.

“ICE is now acting as if there is no law,” said Castaneda. “They are targeting brown people and Black people; he wants a country where white folks are in control, and therefore I very much do think that he is targeting immigrants and particularly immigrants of color,” she added.

As Molleda remains in detention, his future hangs in the balance as he fights to stay in the U. S, a place he hoped would offer him safety and the opportunity for a better life.