Franco Jose Caraballo Tiapa, a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela, migrated to the United States in 2023 with his wife seeking asylum due to political persecution and had no criminal history. He presented himself to ICE for a routine check-in in early February 2025 and was detained without being informed of the reason, though he reported being questioned about his tattoos. Without notifying his attorneys or family, he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison under a Trump executive order allowing ICE to send noncitizens to third countries willing to accept them. His family learned of his deportation only after seeing videos of his arrival on social media, having expected him to be sent to Venezuela instead. His attorneys provided documentation proving his clean background and pending asylum claim.