Twice-deported United cockpit suspect granted asylum after transgender persecution claim: DHS

A twice-deported Honduran national accused of trying to storm the cockpit of a United Airlines flight after allegedly claiming to have a bomb was granted asylum after telling immigration authorities he feared being killed in his home country because he was transgender, the Department of Homeland Security DHS confirmed to Fox News.

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, was granted asylum by an immigration judge after his third attempted illegal entry into the United States in 2019, according to DHS, which accused him of exploiting weaknesses in the asylum system.

In an excerpt of his asylum application provided by DHS, Gomez-Alberto checked "Yes" when asked whether he feared harm or mistreatment if returned to his home country.

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"I am also afraid that I will be killed--either by private citizens or the police--in both of these countries because I am transgender," he allegedly wrote, according to the application.

"This criminal illegal alien attempted to storm the cockpit, hijack a plane, and claimed he had a bomb. Thanks to law enforcement, he is now behind bars," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. "This twice-deported criminal illegal alien was allowed into our country because of a weak asylum system that allowed him to game the system."

Gomez-Alberto was arrested after United Airlines Flight 2174 landed in New Orleans on Nov. 9, following the alleged attempt at a cockpit breach.

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He is being held without bond on charges of terrorizing, communicating false information of planned arson, and being a fugitive from justice, according to Fox News Digital's earlier reporting.

Newly obtained emergency radio audio, reported by Fox News Digital, captured authorities' response.

"We have him at the back door. The back door has been breached by him," someone can be heard in the radio call saying.

DHS previously confirmed that Gomez-Alberto was apprehended by Border Patrol after illegally entering the United States near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011 and Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014. He was deported from the United States following both encounters.

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Border Patrol arrested him again in 2019 after an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California.

ICE released Gomez-Alberto from custody in January 2020 following an immigration judge's order, pending removal proceedings, DHS previously said. The agency now says an immigration judge subsequently granted him asylum.

ICE lodged a detainer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office on Nov. 10, requesting notification before his release from custody.

The Department of Justice and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

Fox News Digital's Kelsie Cairns contributed to this reporting.