By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A congressman from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has raised concerns with the Trump administration about the U.S. detention of Venezuelan activist Gregory Sanabria Tarazona, who had been seeking asylum in the United States.
The activist previously participated in demonstrations against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and had fled Venezuela after “being arbitrarily detained and tortured by Maduro’s government,” according to Amnesty International.
He had applied for asylum in the U.S. and was scheduled to appear at his preliminary asylum hearing on July 1, the Washington Post reported.
The activist was taken into custody on Thursday when he was checking in with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston, Republican U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I sent a letter to DHS raising serious concerns about its recent detainment of Gregory Sanabria, a brave political prisoner who spent more than three years imprisoned – including in Maduro’s infamous torture center, El Helicoide,” the lawmaker said on social media.
“Sanabria must not be returned to his oppressors,” the lawmaker said, referring to a potential deportation of the activist.
Amnesty International separately demanded that the activist be granted international protection and that his right to seek asylum be upheld.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, had no immediate comment.
A senior Homeland Security Department official told the Miami Herald that the activist would remain in ICE custody pending a decision by an immigration judge. “All of his claims will be heard by the judge,” the official was quoted as saying.
Maduro’s government has denied accusations of torture.
ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on Trump’s promise of record-level deportations. The White House has demanded the agency sharply increase arrests of migrants who are in the U.S. illegally, sources have told Reuters.
Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles earlier this month when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse. The Trump administration has also attempted to deport pro-Palestinian protesters opposing U.S. ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about the steps by the government.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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