The previously deported Honduran man accused of trying to storm the cockpit of a United Airlines flight was granted asylum after saying he feared he would be killed in Honduras because he is transgender, the Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Examiner.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, the DHS said Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, had been deported twice before returning to the United States and applying for asylum. The department said he told authorities he feared being killed in Honduras because he was transgender and that an immigration judge later granted his application during President Donald Trump’s first term.
