(HOUSTON, TEXAS) Faith leaders in Texas are calling for the release of an LGBTQ asylum seeker who was detained by ICE during what his family believed would be a routine Green Card Interview, as growing reports from late 2025 point to a pattern of arrests at immigration appointments in several U.S. cities.
Case overview: Jorge Amado Hernandez (Houston)
- Name: Jorge Amado Hernandez
- Age: 33-year-old
- Country of origin: Honduras
- Date detained: November 4
- Location of detention: During his asylum interview in Houston
- Detaining agency: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Hernandez first came to the United States in 2016 after members of the MS-13 gang threatened to kill him because he is gay. That same year, an asylum officer found he had a “credible fear” of persecution, a first screening step in the asylum process, and he was released from custody.
After his release, Hernandez settled in Houston and later married his U.S. citizen husband, David Torres. The couple expected that his latest immigration appointment would move him closer to permanent status in the United States, possibly through a marriage-based path that involves filing a Form I-485 application and later attending a Green Card Interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Instead, Torres watched his husband be detained with no warning.
For Torres, what should have been the end of a long asylum struggle turned into the start of a new legal fight. Faith leaders and local LGBTQ advocates have pressed for Hernandez’s release, arguing that he should never have been placed back into detention after years of building a life in Houston.
Broader pattern: Similar arrests in other cities
Hernandez’s case is not isolated. Reported incidents include:
- Salt Lake City — Jair Celis detained on December 3 during what his lawyer says was supposed to be his final Green Card Interview.
- His attorney, Andy Armstrong of Stowell Crayk, PLLC, said Celis had no criminal record and “he should have walked out of that appointment with an approved green card.”
- Armstrong noted his firm had feared detentions at interviews might rise but had never seen one before Celis’s arrest.
- Los Angeles — A 39-year-old man reportedly detained during his green card interview in downtown Los Angeles, according to advocates tracking these incidents.
These scattered cases have left lawyers, community groups, and advocates trying to piece together whether a new enforcement approach from ICE exists, or whether these are local decisions by individual officers.
Impact on families and vulnerable populations
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, detentions at immigration interviews can have especially harsh effects on mixed-status families and other vulnerable groups:
- Children may be separated from a parent who does not return from an appointment.
- Households can face sudden financial instability (lost income, missed mortgage payments).
- Jobs and daily routines are disrupted when a partner or parent is detained unexpectedly.
- For LGBTQ asylum seekers, detention raises additional risks, including potential harassment from other detainees and staff—especially concerning for those who already fled identity-based violence.
Advocates stress that using asylum or green card appointments as enforcement opportunities:
– Breaks trust with immigrant communities.
– Discourages people from attending necessary interviews and hearings.
– Undermines government messaging that applicants should keep addresses updated and attend appointments.
Local response and concerns in Houston
The Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus — one of the oldest LGBTQ+ organizations in the South — issued a public statement saying it was “deeply alarmed” by Hernandez’s detention and the manner in which it was carried out.
“The decision to detain him without warning, move him between facilities, and place him in one of the toughest immigration courts in the country represents a deeply troubling escalation in enforcement. It endangers LGBTQ+ immigrants and violates fundamental principles of safety, dignity, and due process.”
The group’s reference to “one of the toughest immigration courts in the country” points to the jurisdiction where Hernandez’s case has reportedly been placed, known among immigration lawyers for high denial rates and strict approaches to asylum claims. Advocates say moving Hernandez into that court after years in the community is harsh and unnecessary, especially given his earlier positive credible fear finding.
Conditions, medical care, and detention timeline
- Hernandez has been held for more than a month since his November 4 detention.
- Torres reported that Hernandez was initially denied his prescribed anxiety medication at the IAH Polk Adult Detention Facility.
- Hernandez also alleged that he and other detainees were forced to sleep on the floor in crowded holding cells—conditions especially difficult for people with trauma from past persecution.
While federal detention standards exist, multiple reports over the years have documented problems in ICE facilities across the country.
Legal and procedural questions being raised
Attorneys and advocates want clear answers from the federal government, asking:
- Has there been an internal shift encouraging ICE to make arrests at USCIS buildings?
- Are there special protections for people like LGBTQ asylum seekers who previously faced violence and threats?
- Should such protections exist if they don’t already?
Faith leaders supporting Hernandez argue the concern is moral as well as legal: a country that once agreed he faced real danger in Honduras should not now lock him up again while he tries to finish the process that could grant him safety.
USCIS guidance and resources
USCIS explains on its official website how green card and asylum processes work and what applicants should expect at interviews, including security checks and document reviews. The agency does not, however, provide detailed public guidance about when ICE may step in at a USCIS office.
- For general information on adjustment of status, interviews, and related forms, readers can review USCIS’s official resources: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures
- That page also links to the Form I-485 for applying for a green card from inside the United States.
Key takeaways
- There are multiple reported incidents of ICE detaining immigrants during USCIS interviews in late 2025, suggesting a possible pattern.
- These detentions have deep personal and community impacts, particularly for mixed-status families and vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ asylum seekers.
- Lawyers, faith leaders, and advocates are calling for transparency, potential policy clarification, and protections to ensure asylum seekers and those adjusting status are not deterred from participating in the immigration process.
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Jorge Amado Hernandez, a Honduran LGBTQ asylum seeker, was detained by ICE during a Houston Green Card interview on November 4. He had a prior 2016 credible fear finding and married a U.S. citizen. Similar detentions in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles point to a possible enforcement pattern at USCIS appointments. Advocates warn of harms to families and vulnerable people, and call for transparency, policy clarification, and protections to prevent deterrence from essential immigration processes.
