For Immediate Release
June 23, 2025
Contact
media@nipnlg.org
Washington, DC – On Friday, the National Immigration Project filed an amended habeas corpus petition on behalf of Mr. Jose Manuel Ramos Bastidas. On March 15, 2025, the United States government sent Mr. Ramos Bastidas, along with more than 250 other men, to be imprisoned at the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. For over three months now, the United States has been paying El Salvador to imprison Mr. Ramos Bastidas in a prison known for torture. The amended petition seeks Mr. Ramos Bastidas’s release from CECOT.
Mr. Ramos Bastidas is a 30-year old Venezuelan man. He is the father of a young child, a dedicated partner, and a dutiful son to his parents. He came to the United States in March 2024, believing he would find opportunities here to “give a better life to my family.” After he presented at a port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, Mr. Ramos Bastidas was taken into ICE custody and placed into expedited removal. Mr. Ramos Bastidas was issued an expedited removal order and was eventually transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. After spending ten long months in detention, Mr. Ramos Bastidas “simply wanted to go home,” and filed a habeas corpus petition in the Middle District of Georgia in December 2024. Because deportations to Venezuela were not feasible at the time, Mr. Ramos Bastidas asked the federal court to end his indefinite detention and order his release, either in the United States or in Venezuela.
In February, the government told the court that Mr. Ramos Bastidas was going to be on an upcoming flight to Venezuela. But instead, on March 15, 2025, the government disappeared Mr. Ramos Bastidas to CECOT. The government then asked the court to dismiss his case.
Mr. Ramos Bastidas’s amended petition lays out what has been established in public reporting—that the U.S. government is paying El Salvador millions of dollars to detain people like Mr. Ramos Bastidas. His ongoing detention at the U.S. government’s behest is cruel and unlawful, and is yet another extreme step the U.S. government has taken to punish those who seek an opportunity to pursue a better life for themselves and their families.
“Jose Manuel went to the United States to be able to care for his family and be responsible for his son,” said Roynerliz Rodriguez Perez, Mr. Ramos Batidas’ partner. “He is a diligent father, and he wanted to do everything possible to make his son’s life a little better. His absence hurts us tremendously. Jose Manuel, like the other men sent to CECOT, is innocent, and he was cheated by the U.S. government. Instead of sending him back home to us, they sent him to CECOT.”
“Mr. Ramos Bastidas was ready to return home to his family, who was waiting to welcome him back with his favorite home-cooked meal and open arms,” said Stephanie Alvarez-Jones, Southeast Regional Attorney at the National Immigration Project. “Instead of returning him to Venezuela, the U.S. government took the extraordinary and unlawful step of placing him in CECOT. U.S. taxpayer funds are being used to hold him and more than two hundred other men incommunicado in torturous conditions. Mr. Ramos Bastidas must be allowed to return home to his family and his unlawful detention must end.”
Read the petition here.
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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.