Saturday

05-03-2025 Vol 1949

Silent Despair: The Journey of YD and Yeison Rodrigo Jaimes-Rincon Amid Deportation and Family Separation

A young woman named YD has not spoken to her partner, Yeison Rodrigo Jaimes-Rincon, for over a month.

YD, a 33-year-old Venezuelan migrant residing in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, spends her days scrolling through her phone, hoping to hear news from her partner, who is supposed to meet their newborn son.

In order to protect her privacy and her family’s safety, WBEZ is not using YD’s full name.

Jaimes-Rincon was under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) supervision when he was arrested and taken into custody on January 31.

While in detention, the couple communicated regularly over the phone.

However, after their last conversation on the morning of March 15, YD’s phone went silent.

Unbeknownst to YD, Jaimes-Rincon had been deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

She learned of his deportation from a list published by CBS News, which reported the names of 238 Venezuelans flown to El Salvador by the Trump administration.

Panicked, YD began frantically searching online for more information about her partner’s whereabouts.

That’s when she stumbled upon a widely circulated video of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem touring the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in El Salvador known for allegations of human rights violations.

The footage showed Jaimes-Rincon standing behind bars, with Noem in front.

“He comes out right in front of the screen,” YD recounted in Spanish, expressing the emotional turmoil she experienced watching the footage.

“Such sadness. I cried, I just cried.”

In that moment, YD discovered that Jaimes-Rincon had been deported without his family’s knowledge or access to due process.

He was deprived of legal counsel, the legal system, and any means to communicate with YD.

The Trump administration has alleged that the migrants deported to CECOT are members of Tren de Aragua, a terrorist gang originating from Venezuela.

They assert that gang members are “invading” the U.S. and are relying on the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to enforce the deportations as part of a broader crackdown on immigration.

Linda Dakin-Grimm, an attorney and immigrant rights advocate, noted that while the U.S. government has previously deported people to countries other than their home nation, sending migrants to foreign maximum-security prisons is a departure from prior practices seen under President Donald Trump.

“It’s a terrible thing that we would be gathering up people, giving them no due process at all, sending them to countries that they’re not from, knowing that we’re going to have them imprisoned in one of the most notorious prisons in the world,” Dakin-Grimm remarked.

The deportations have sparked several lawsuits, including that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

A U.S. judge had provided him protection from being deported in 2019, but due to an “administrative error” he was sent back.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the government to facilitate his return to the United States, but U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that it is ultimately up to the Salvadoran government whether they will send him back.

Recently, during a meeting with Trump, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared that El Salvador would not return Abrego Garcia.

Unlike Abrego Garcia, Jaimes-Rincon had a removal order against him.

He and YD had crossed the border illegally in the fall of 2023 after waiting months in Mexico for an appointment to request asylum.

After YD and her children were sent to Chicago, Jaimes-Rincon was detained in an immigration facility in Laredo, Texas, where his asylum application was filed without any legal assistance.

His application was ultimately denied.

Dakin-Grimm pointed out that denial rates for asylum applications, especially in detention facilities, are notably high.

Jaimes-Rincon was released from detention last summer, allowed to reunite with YD in Chicago, and placed under ICE supervision with an ankle monitor requiring monthly check-ins.

On the day of his arrest, he had gone to the local immigration office without an appointment because his ankle monitor battery was low.

Both YD and Jaimes-Rincon understood the risks of his deportation, but YD never imagined it would result in his transfer to a dangerous maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

Now, YD is struggling to survive without Jaimes-Rincon.

They were already facing financial hardships due to their lack of work authorization but had managed to take on odd construction, cleaning, and hair-styling jobs.

Now alone with a newborn and three other children, YD finds it increasingly difficult to secure work.

She is now several months behind in rent and is trying to provide for her children while dealing with the overwhelming emotional impact of her partner’s absence.

“While he was detained, we’d see each other through video calls.

That’s how he met his son.

When I gave birth, he called me to give me strength,” YD said while sobbing.

“We haven’t been able to speak on the phone.

We haven’t been able to encourage him so that he finds the strength to keep going.”

The Trump administration has not confirmed the names published by CBS or provided evidence supporting claims of gang affiliations among the detainees.

According to CBS News, most men on the list have no criminal records.

YD insists that her partner, who worked informally as a barber, has not committed any crimes.

WBEZ investigated and found no criminal records for Jaimes-Rincon in Texas or Illinois.

ICE did not respond to inquiries regarding Jaimes-Rincon’s case, whereabouts, or any evidence linking him to Tren de Aragua.

YD worries her partner may be unfairly accused of gang involvement due to tattoos on his chest and arm; these include one tattoo of his 7-year-old daughter’s name with a crown above it, symbolizing that she is his queen, along with two small stars and the name of his aunt.

“We can’t put everyone in one category simply because of their tattoos,” YD said.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward have filed a lawsuit following the March 15 deportations, emphasizing that tattoos may not be a reliable indicator of gang affiliation.

“Once we start using wartime authority with no oversight, anything is possible.

Anybody can be picked up,” said Lee Gelernt, a lead attorney involved in the lawsuit.

An ICE official stated in a declaration associated with the suit that they “carefully vetted each individual alien to ensure they were in fact members of [Tren de Aragua],” but critics question the validity of such vetting.

YD, meanwhile, has a pending asylum case and worries about the future safety of herself and her children.

Recently, the Trump administration issued an advertisement campaign where Noem encourages undocumented immigrants to leave the U.S. voluntarily, cautioning them of deportation if they don’t.

Dakin-Grimm advises immigrants, particularly those recently arrived, to evaluate their risks of being detained by immigration and urges them to seek legal assistance.

“I’m a religious person, but I would not say, ‘I’ll just leave it up to God,’ because the system is going to eat people and your family will be hurt,” Dakin-Grimm warned.

“So, make some plans now.”

This heartbreaking situation illustrates the cruel realities facing many immigrants seeking better opportunities and freedom in the U.S., where the risk of separation, deportation, and human rights violations loom large.

image source from:https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2025/04/16/a-chicago-man-was-deported-to-an-el-salvadoran-prison-his-family-says-they-saw-him-in-a-video-online

Benjamin Clarke