A Venezuelan man who was previously held at "Alligator Alcatraz" is still waiting to return to his home country after his scheduled deportation flight was reportedly full on Friday.
Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez, who has been seeking deportation back to Venezuela, was unable to board his planned flight, according to his attorney Eric Lee.
WATCH BELOW: Venezuelan detainee still seeking flight home
Lee said immigration authorities informed him that the flight had reached capacity.
Velasquez is currently being detained in El Paso after a month-long ordeal that included a stay at "Alligator Alcatraz," where he reportedly became so ill he was taken to the hospital.
The incident prompted family members to take to social media to request proof that he was still alive until federal authorities confirmed his status a day later.
"As an immigration lawyer, the idea that we would be advocating for deportation is very strange and foreign to us as a profession," Lee said.
WATCH BELOW: Detainee faced 'life-or-death situation,' attorney says
Lee added that his client has been desperate to return home throughout this process, as Velasquez's health continues to suffer.
"He has been made to sit in this, in what he has described as a nightmarish hell hole, where he's being treated as less than an animal for weeks and weeks and weeks throughout the entire time," Lee said. "All he's been asking for is the ability to go back to Venezuela and see his family."
According to Lee, a final deportation order for Velasquez was issued within the past few days, but there's still no confirmed date for when he'll be able to leave the United States.
In response to from WPTV emailed to DHS, we received a series of quotes from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:
Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez is a criminal illegal alien with a rap sheet that includes an arrest for robbery in Miami. Criminal illegal aliens are not eligible for voluntary departure. When you come to our country and break our laws, you lose that privilege.
Rivas Velasquez fainted and was taken to the hospital out of precaution. ICE takes its commitment to protecting those in its custody very seriously. We ensure illegal aliens have access to proper medical care.
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