Hundreds protest at Tampa's ICE office over deportations of 2 Venezuelan men
By Nancy Guan
April 20, 2025 at 7:00 AM EDT
Family members of the men say they are asylum seekers who were wrongfully detained and deported to El Salvador's maximum security prison known as CECOT.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Cypress Point Park and marched along West Cypress Street toward the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Tampa Saturday.
It's where the families of Luis Carlos Jose Marcano and Frengel Reyes say the men were detained two months ago during a routine immigration appointment.
Lea esta historia en español
Marcano and Reyes were both asylum seekers, their family members explained. But when they arrived at the office, they were told that they couldn't leave.
Reyes' wife, Liyanara Sanchez, recounted that day. Sanchez did not attend the protest out of fear for her and her child's safety, but spoke to WUSF over the phone.
Speaking in Spanish through a translator, Sanchez said she was sitting in the car, waiting for her husband during his appointment when an ICE agent knocked on her window.
He told her that Reyes was being detained and that it was "regular protocol" due to the new administration's rules. That was on Feb. 4, Sanchez's birthday.
"En ese momento sentí que El Mundo se me vino encima, no sabía qué hacer, me sentía con impotencia porque estaban llevando una persona inocente. (In that moment, it felt like the whole world was falling on me. I didn't know what to do, I felt helpless because they were taking an innocent person)," she said.
ALSO READ: Tren de Aragua — all you need to know about the Venezuelan gang
Sanchez said it was weeks later, during a hearing with immigration officials, that they told her Reyes was being accused of having ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua.
She didn't understand why her husband was being targeted. According to Sanchez, he doesn't have any tattoos, something the administration has relied on to identify gang members.
And she said the evidence document that she was given contained multiple errors, such as referring to a woman with the last name Reyes and another man with a completely different name.
Sanchez last spoke to her husband on March 15, the day he and more than 200 others were put on a plane to El Salvador.
At the time, the couple thought Reyes was being deported back to Venezuela. He said to her, "I love you ... when I get to Venezuela, I will call you."
But there were no planes to Venezuela that day, Sanchez said, and she never received his call.
Protesters stand in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, 5524 W. Cypress St., Tampa, on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Several Department of Homeland Security police vehicles were stationed outsides. (3456x2304, AR: 1.5)
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport 238 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, despite a federal judge telling them not to. The migrants are now being held at the maximum security prison CECOT, which has a reputation for its extreme conditions.
According to investigations by the CBS News program "60 Minutes" and The New York Times, a majority of the people deported had no criminal charges or convictions.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that the administration can carry out deportations under the act, but must give people the chance to challenge the decision.
Over the weekend, the administration was caught in another legal battle after attempting to restart removals of Venezuelans held in northern Texas under the Alien Enemies Act.
Both Reyes' and Marcano's families are in contact with the ACLU and Florida Immigrant Coalition, said protest organizer Ruth Beltran.
Beltran, who is with the Tampa Bay branch of the group Party for Socialism and Liberation, said she hopes the families can find recourse with legal aid groups.
"They are completely desperate because they do not know if their loved ones are dead or alive," said Beltran.
It's where the families of Luis Carlos Jose Marcano and Frengel Reyes say the men were detained two months ago during a routine immigration appointment.
Lea esta historia en español
Marcano and Reyes were both asylum seekers, their family members explained. But when they arrived at the office, they were told that they couldn't leave.
Reyes' wife, Liyanara Sanchez, recounted that day. Sanchez did not attend the protest out of fear for her and her child's safety, but spoke to WUSF over the phone.
Speaking in Spanish through a translator, Sanchez said she was sitting in the car, waiting for her husband during his appointment when an ICE agent knocked on her window.
He told her that Reyes was being detained and that it was "regular protocol" due to the new administration's rules. That was on Feb. 4, Sanchez's birthday.
"En ese momento sentí que El Mundo se me vino encima, no sabía qué hacer, me sentía con impotencia porque estaban llevando una persona inocente. (In that moment, it felt like the whole world was falling on me. I didn't know what to do, I felt helpless because they were taking an innocent person)," she said.
ALSO READ: Tren de Aragua — all you need to know about the Venezuelan gang
Sanchez said it was weeks later, during a hearing with immigration officials, that they told her Reyes was being accused of having ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua.
She didn't understand why her husband was being targeted. According to Sanchez, he doesn't have any tattoos, something the administration has relied on to identify gang members.
And she said the evidence document that she was given contained multiple errors, such as referring to a woman with the last name Reyes and another man with a completely different name.
Sanchez last spoke to her husband on March 15, the day he and more than 200 others were put on a plane to El Salvador.
At the time, the couple thought Reyes was being deported back to Venezuela. He said to her, "I love you ... when I get to Venezuela, I will call you."
But there were no planes to Venezuela that day, Sanchez said, and she never received his call.
Protesters stand in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, 5524 W. Cypress St., Tampa, on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Several Department of Homeland Security police vehicles were stationed outsides. (3456x2304, AR: 1.5)
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport 238 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, despite a federal judge telling them not to. The migrants are now being held at the maximum security prison CECOT, which has a reputation for its extreme conditions.
According to investigations by the CBS News program "60 Minutes" and The New York Times, a majority of the people deported had no criminal charges or convictions.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that the administration can carry out deportations under the act, but must give people the chance to challenge the decision.
Over the weekend, the administration was caught in another legal battle after attempting to restart removals of Venezuelans held in northern Texas under the Alien Enemies Act.
Both Reyes' and Marcano's families are in contact with the ACLU and Florida Immigrant Coalition, said protest organizer Ruth Beltran.
Beltran, who is with the Tampa Bay branch of the group Party for Socialism and Liberation, said she hopes the families can find recourse with legal aid groups.
"They are completely desperate because they do not know if their loved ones are dead or alive," said Beltran.