The Miami Herald reports:

A Venezuelan man has disappeared into the U.S. immigration system. His family is looking for answers.

Where is their brother? Where is her boyfriend?

Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, 27, was admitted into the U.S. in June 2023, after crossing the southern border through a scheduled appointment with immigration authorities — part of a digital portal created under the Biden administration to manage the flow of migrants entering from Mexico. In his hand, he carried a phone. In his heart, a mission: to build a future for his 6-year-old daughter, Isabela, still in Venezuela, his family said.

Leon Rengel was born in 1998 — the same year Hugo Chávez rose to power, marking the beginning of Venezuela’s unraveling. His generation came of age amid blackouts, food shortages and collapsing institutions. For six years, Leon Rengel lived in Colombia, where according to the national police he had no criminal record. In 2023, he took a risk, packed his barber tools and headed north.

Once in the U.S., he lived picking up odd jobs, cutting hair, saving money. In Dallas he met Alejandra Gutierrez, also a Venezuelan migrant. They were together for over a year, building a life. They had a dog named Princesa, and he helped Gutierrez raise her daughter.

On March 13, his birthday, everything changed.

According to Gutierrez, federal agents detained Leon Rengel in the parking garage of their Irving, Texas, apartment, as he was leaving for a hair-cutting gig.

“They didn’t have an arrest warrant,” Gutierrez said. “They asked him to lift his shirt to show his tattoos, and when they saw them, they claimed he was affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. They took his documents — and took him away.” That was the last time she saw him. [Continue reading…]