This article covers the alarming case of Ricardo Prada Vásquez, a Venezuelan immigrant who went missing after accidentally crossing the border into Canada, leading to a series of events that resulted in his deportation and subsequent disappearance.
A Venezuelan Immigrant Disappears After Mistaken Deportation
A Venezuelan Immigrant Disappears After Mistaken Deportation
The story of Ricardo Prada Vásquez raises critical questions about immigration procedures in the U.S.
In late January, Ricardo Prada Vásquez, a Venezuelan delivery worker in Detroit, made a fateful error by mistakenly crossing onto the Ambassador Bridge, inadvertently heading toward Canada. This common misstep, however, turned into a nightmare when U.S. authorities apprehended him for attempting to re-enter the country.
At the age of 32, Mr. Prada found himself detained and subsequently ordered for deportation. He managed to communicate with a friend in Chicago on March 15, revealing he was among many detainees in Texas, expecting repatriation to Venezuela. However, that same evening, the Trump administration facilitated the deportation of several Venezuelan migrants via three flights to El Salvador. Reports indicate these deportees have since been incarcerated in a maximum-security prison in near-total isolation.
Bizarrely, Mr. Prada has not been accounted for in any official records; he is absent from the list of 238 deported individuals from that day, and photos released by authorities do not feature him among those who were shackled and transported. Javier, a close friend who last spoke with Mr. Prada, expressed deep concern for his missing friend, stating, “He has simply disappeared.”
The disappearance of Ricardo Prada Vásquez evokes pressing questions regarding the rights of immigrants and the accountability of U.S. immigration policies, particularly in cases of mistaken identity and deportation.
