Parents Deported 1500 Miles Apart, Stranding 2 Year Old Daughter in Foster Care

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After several months in immigration detention, Yorely Bernal Inciarte and Maiker Espinoza Escalona were deported to Venezuela and to El Salvador’s CECOT prison, respectively, leaving their two year old daughter stranded in foster care in the USA.

They crossed the border into Texas 14 May 2024. Not having valid visas, they promptly surrendered to immigration agents. They were put in separate detention centers in Texas, only able to communicate with each other by phone. Their daughter Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal was put in foster care.

Sometime in April 2025, Inciarte was sent back to Venezuela where they began. Eventually she learned that Escalona had been sent to Guantanamo Bay and then on 30 March 2025 to the CECOT prison in El Salvador. Their daughter remains in foster care under the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has accused Donald Trump’s regime of abducting Venezuelans in the USA.

The Department of Homeland Security says it is justified in keeping the child on the grounds that her parents are members of the Tren de Aragua gang with significant roles. DHS has not presented any evidence to support its accusation. The couple have no criminal record in Venezuela and their only record in the USA is for entering the country without authorization.

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