Latest news with #I-220As
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Deport every person under the sun': ICE detains Cubans during immigration appointments
Federal authorities in South Florida have recently detained at least 18 Cubans during scheduled immigration appointments, local attorneys say, highlighting that a group that has historically enjoyed special immigration benefits is not immune to the Trump administration's intensified mass deportation efforts. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Cubans who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border have received I-220A forms, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement document that records someone's release from custody subject to certain conditions. That paperwork does not confer lawful status. Federal judges have ruled it can't be used to apply for green cards under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which lets Cuban nationals get permanent residency a year and a day after touching U.S. soil. Cubans with I-220As must instead seek asylum or find an alternative path to stay in the United States, like a family-based green-card petition. It's Cubans with I-220As, primarily women, whom ICE has detained at regular check-ins in the agency's field office in Miramar, attorneys say. Their detentions mark another way in which the experiences of newly arrived Cubans are different from previous generations that widely enjoyed special treatment in the federal immigration system. Read more: Cubans with I-220A forms are suddenly being detained. Here's why – and what they can do Under the Biden administration, ICE primarily focused on detaining public safety and national security threats. As long as they did not have criminal records, Cubans with I-220As were not taken into custody. That appears to have changed under the Trump administration. 'They were always vulnerable. It's just somebody has decided to take action,' said Miami immigration attorney Mark Prada. 'It's all discretion and priority decisions. And right now the priority is to deport every person under the sun.' The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Herald questions about whether Cubans with I-220As were now considered a detention and deportation priority for ICE. Trump has said he wants to deport the millions of undocumented people who are in the United States. 'It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,' Trump wrote in an executive order on his first day in office. Among the Cubans recently detained is Beatriz Monteagudo, 25, her friend Johan Ariel told the Miami Herald. The pair texted each other daily. But the last message he received from Monteagudo was March 10. The Cuban woman, who got an I-220A after entering the U.S. in January 2024, was heading to her required check-in appointment in Miramar. Ariel quickly grew worried that he hadn't heard from her following the appointment. When he searched the ICE detainee locator service online, her name showed up. Then came Monteagudo's call. When she called Ariel from the detention facility, she told him she was with about 18 others who had also been taken into custody after showing up for their routine appointments. Monteagudo told him she wasn't told why they were there, aside from officers mentioning the laws had changed. To date, neither Monteagudo nor Ariel have gotten answers, he says. And this week, Monteagudo, who was living in Miami, was transferred to a detention facility in San Diego. 'I am completely left in the dark right now,' Ariel told the Herald. 'I am so worried and have no resources to help her.' Ariel, who came from Cuba two years ago, fears for Monteagudo's safety if she were to be returned to her homeland. She faced issues with the island's authorities for participating in the widespread July 11, 2021, anti-government protests. 'If she returns to Cuba, she will be imprisoned right away,' Ariel said. 'That'd be destroying her life.' Rebeca Sanchez-Roig, an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities Legal Services of Miami, described the ICE decision to detain the Cuban women without criminal records as 'unusual.' 'But while unusual, it's not legally impossible,' she added. Cuba doesn't consistently accept American deportation flights — as many as 42,000 Cuban nationals remain in the U.S. despite having deportation orders. That means that deportation to Cuba is a headache for the federal government. Several Latin American countries have agreed to accept U.S. deportees from other countries, and experts warn that Cubans could also be sent to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. Under a deal it brokered with the Biden administration, Mexico already takes back Cubans who arrive at the southwest border. An El Salvador mega-prison recently received hundreds of Venezuelans as part of a deal the Trump administration made with Salvadorean president Nayib Bukele last month. Wilfredo Allen, a Miami-based immigration attorney, represents an asylum seeker who was among the recently detained Cubans. The cases he's learned of are mostly women. He said it's the first time he's seeing Cubans with I-220As with pending immigration cases or green card applications and no criminal histories end up in ICE custody. 'It's creating a big panic,' Allen said. Laura de la Caridad Sanchez, 27, is one of those Cuban women with I-220As whom ICE detained as she was attending an immigration appointment in Miramar, her attorney, Eduardo Soto, said. Soto said he doesn't know why Sanchez, who was living in Coral Gables with her mother, and the others were detained; he added that immigration officials cited a memo and said it 'came down from powers that be in Washington.' Soto said he's prepared to file a federal lawsuit if she is not released. 'This step was taken to detain her and place everyone in a panic,' Soto said. 'It's a waste of the government's time and money and her time and money.' U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami, who has positioned herself as a champion for Cubans with I-220As, confirmed on X that she was aware of the recent detentions at ICE's office in Miramar. 'I recently spoke with ICE and Homeland Security officials and asked them to not detain Cubans with I-220A and allow for their asylum cases to be heard,' Salazar said in a statement posted in Spanish. 'As you all know well, during the Biden administration I sought a solution for Cubans with I-220A, and I will not stop until it's no longer necessary.' Miami U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart, who like Salazar are Cuban American, didn't respond to Herald requests for comment. They have not released statements about the detainees. However, Diaz-Balart in 2023 expressed outrage with the Biden administration over its I-220A policies affecting Cubans 'which are causing confusion, chaos, and injustice.' Prada described the fact that so many Cubans have been given I-220A documents as 'a backdoor repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act.' He has been at the forefront of several lawsuits that have resulted in Cubans with I-220As obtaining parole to remain in the U.S. and gain permanent residency. Lawyers note that for South Florida's Cuban community, many of whom supported Trump's presidential campaign, the rapid immigration enforcement changes may come as a surprise. 'People come out in favor of the face-eating leopards,' Prada said. 'And then they get surprised when the leopard eats their face.' The detainment of Cubans by ICE in Miramar is stoking fear in South Florida's immigrant community, said Allen, a Miami immigration attorney for over three decades. He said he believes the Trump administration is trying to 'intimidate' people and cause panic so they voluntarily return to their home countries. The panic, however, isn't only affecting immigrants, Allen said. Immigration officers are being pressured for not detaining enough people, and judges and government lawyers are also being strong-armed into rejecting people's efforts to stay in the U.S. Allen said people with I-220A, despite their fears, should continue to show up to their appointments and court dates. 'They should hold faith that this year a federal court will rule in favor of them.'
Miami Herald
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Deport every person under the sun': ICE detains Cubans during immigration appointments
Federal authorities in South Florida have recently detained at least 18 Cubans during scheduled immigration appointments, local attorneys say, highlighting that a group that has historically enjoyed special immigration benefits is not immune to the Trump administration's intensified mass deportation efforts. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Cubans who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border have received I-220A forms, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement document that records someone's release from custody subject to certain conditions. That paperwork does not confer lawful status. Federal judges have ruled it can't be used to apply for green cards under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which lets Cuban nationals get permanent residency a year and a day after touching U.S. soil. Cubans with I-220As must instead seek asylum or find an alternative path to stay in the United States, like a family-based green-card petition. It's Cubans with I-220As, primarily women, whom ICE has detained at regular check-ins in the agency's field office in Miramar, attorneys say. Their detentions mark another way in which the experiences of newly arrived Cubans are different from previous generations that widely enjoyed special treatment in the federal immigration system. Read more: Cubans with I-220A forms are suddenly being detained. Here's why – and what they can do Under the Biden administration, ICE primarily focused on detaining public safety and national security threats. As long as they did not have criminal records, Cubans with I-220As were not taken into custody. That appears to have changed under the Trump administration. 'They were always vulnerable. It's just somebody has decided to take action,' said Miami immigration attorney Mark Prada. 'It's all discretion and priority decisions. And right now the priority is to deport every person under the sun.' The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Herald questions about whether Cubans with I-220As were now considered a detention and deportation priority for ICE. Trump has said he wants to deport the millions of undocumented people who are in the United States. 'It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,' Trump wrote in an executive order on his first day in office. Among the Cubans recently detained is Beatriz Monteagudo, 25, her friend Johan Ariel told the Miami Herald. The pair texted each other daily. But the last message he received from Monteagudo was March 10. The Cuban woman, who got an I-220A after entering the U.S. in January 2024, was heading to her required check-in appointment in Miramar. Ariel quickly grew worried that he hadn't heard from her following the appointment. When he searched the ICE detainee locator service online, her name showed up. Then came Monteagudo's call. When she called Ariel from the detention facility, she told him she was with about 18 others who had also been taken into custody after showing up for their routine appointments. Monteagudo told him she wasn't told why they were there, aside from officers mentioning the laws had changed. To date, neither Monteagudo nor Ariel have gotten answers, he says. And this week, Monteagudo, who was living in Miami, was transferred to a detention facility in San Diego. 'I am completely left in the dark right now,' Ariel told the Herald. 'I am so worried and have no resources to help her.' Ariel, who came from Cuba two years ago, fears for Monteagudo's safety if she were to be returned to her homeland. She faced issues with the island's authorities for participating in the widespread July 11, 2021, anti-government protests. 'If she returns to Cuba, she will be imprisoned right away,' Ariel said. 'That'd be destroying her life.' Rebeca Sanchez-Roig, an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities Legal Services of Miami, described the ICE decision to detain the Cuban women without criminal records as 'unusual.' 'But while unusual, it's not legally impossible,' she added. Cuba doesn't consistently accept American deportation flights — as many as 42,000 Cuban nationals remain in the U.S. despite having deportation orders. That means that deportation to Cuba is a headache for the federal government. Several Latin American countries have agreed to accept U.S. deportees from other countries, and experts warn that Cubans could also be sent to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. Under a deal it brokered with the Biden administration, Mexico already takes back Cubans who arrive at the southwest border. An El Salvador mega-prison recently received hundreds of Venezuelans as part of a deal the Trump administration made with Salvadorean president Nayib Bukele last month. Wilfredo Allen, a Miami-based immigration attorney, represents an asylum seeker who was among the recently detained Cubans. The cases he's learned of are mostly women. He said it's the first time he's seeing Cubans with I-220As with pending immigration cases or green card applications and no criminal histories end up in ICE custody. 'It's creating a big panic,' Allen said. Laura de la Caridad Sanchez, 27, is one of those Cuban women with I-220As whom ICE detained as she was attending an immigration appointment in Miramar, her attorney, Eduardo Soto, said. Soto said he doesn't know why Sanchez, who was living in Coral Gables with her mother, and the others were detained; he added that immigration officials cited a memo and said it 'came down from powers that be in Washington.' Soto said he's prepared to file a federal lawsuit if she is not released. 'This step was taken to detain her and place everyone in a panic,' Soto said. 'It's a waste of the government's time and money and her time and money.' U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami, who has positioned herself as a champion for Cubans with I-220As, confirmed on X that she was aware of the recent detentions at ICE's office in Miramar. 'I recently spoke with ICE and Homeland Security officials and asked them to not detain Cubans with I-220A and allow for their asylum cases to be heard,' Salazar said in a statement posted in Spanish. 'As you all know well, during the Biden administration I sought a solution for Cubans with I-220A, and I will not stop until it's no longer necessary.' Miami U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart, who like Salazar are Cuban American, didn't respond to Herald requests for comment. They have not released statements about the detainees. However, Diaz-Balart in 2023 expressed outrage with the Biden administration over its I-220A policies affecting Cubans 'which are causing confusion, chaos, and injustice.' 'Face-eating leopards' Prada described the fact that so many Cubans have been given I-220A documents as 'a backdoor repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act.' He has been at the forefront of several lawsuits that have resulted in Cubans with I-220As obtaining parole to remain in the U.S. and gain permanent residency. Lawyers note that for South Florida's Cuban community, many of whom supported Trump's presidential campaign, the rapid immigration enforcement changes may come as a surprise. 'People come out in favor of the face-eating leopards,' Prada said. 'And then they get surprised when the leopard eats their face.' The detainment of Cubans by ICE in Miramar is stoking fear in South Florida's immigrant community, said Allen, a Miami immigration attorney for over three decades. He said he believes the Trump administration is trying to 'intimidate' people and cause panic so they voluntarily return to their home countries. The panic, however, isn't only affecting immigrants, Allen said. Immigration officers are being pressured for not detaining enough people, and judges and government lawyers are also being strong-armed into rejecting people's efforts to stay in the U.S. Allen said people with I-220A, despite their fears, should continue to show up to their appointments and court dates. 'They should hold faith that this year a federal court will rule in favor of them.'
Miami Herald
21-03-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Cubans with I-220A forms are suddenly being detained. Here's why – and what they can do
The federal government has recently detained Cubans with I-220A documents during immigration check-ins in Miami, creating panic and uncertainty in South Florida's immigrant communities. Immigration lawyers estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have gotten the I-220A form after being processed at the U.S.-Mexico border. That paperwork has made it difficult for recently arrived Cubans to fix their immigration status, including getting a green card though the decades-old Cuban Adjustment Act, like generations of people from the island before have been able to do. READ MORE: A new era for Cuban migrants: Some can't get green cards despite decades-old law Here's a breakdown looking at the paperwork, what it means and other questions our readers have about I-220As. What is an I-220A form? An I-220A, or an 'Order of Release on Recognizance,' is a form that simply documents that a migrant has been released into the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — but it does not confer lawful or permanent immigration status. Border authorities have given it to hundreds of thousand of Cuban nationals after processing them at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Cubans were placed in what are called 'removal proceedings' — a legal process to determine if an immigrant should be deported — and released with certain conditions, including attending immigration court hearings and checking in with authorities. MORE: This federal ruling will keep many Cubans from getting green cards to stay in the U.S. Some Cuban immigrants used the paperwork to apply for green cards — and got them granted — through the Cuban Adjustment Act, a 1966 law that allows Cubans to apply for permanent residency a year and a day after arriving in the United States. However, in September 2023, immigration appeals court judges ruled that I-220As could not be used to get green cards. That means that Cubans who entered the U.S. with that document have had to find other ways to permanently stay in the U.S., including seeking political asylum or having a family member request a green card on their behalf. Why did border authorities give Cubans I-220A forms at the border? Generally, Cubans who have come in through the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years have been given either I-220As or humanitarian paroles, which are temporary entry permits granted for urgent humanitarian needs. The parole permits allow Cubans to apply for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act as long as they meet other requirements under the law. But Cubans cannot get green cards under the Cuban Adjustment Act using their I-220As in place of parole documents, the board of immigration appeals ruled. Lawyers and Cuban immigrants who came in through the border have told the Herald that there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why border authorities gave some people I-220As while others got humanitarian paroles. In some cases people in the same family or group who crossed the border together ended up getting different documents, which means that those who got parole have a much easier time finding a way to permanently stay in the United States. There have been cases where a woman has been given one kind of paperwork while her husband got another. In court documents over I-220A litigation, the Department of Homeland Security has said that it has discretion to decide who gets what kind of paperwork when processing migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawyers aren't buying it. 'There is no pattern that we can decipher from this,' said Miami-based immigration attorney Mark Prada, who has argued in several lawsuits against DHS that releasing Cubans with just an I-220A form is illegal. Prada has ongoing litigation where he has asserted that the federal government gave those Cubans the wrong documentation when released, and that they should have been issued a humanitarian parole instead. Why are Cubans with I-220As being detained? The detentions appear to be a change in immigration priorities under the new Trump administration, lawyers say. Wilfredo Allen, a long-time Miami immigration lawyer, told the Miami Herald that ICE had recently detained one of his clients with I-220A paperwork, a Cuban woman seeking asylum with pending court proceedings, and that he knows of other similar cases. 'It's the first time I see that people with I-220As, with no criminal records, and pending court hearings or green cards have been detained,' said Allen. 'That creates a huge panic.' The Trump administration has put pressure on immigration officials to ramp up detentions and deportation numbers. So people who were not a detention priority under the Biden administration — which focused on recent arrivals at the border and public safety threats — are now being detained. 'They were always vulnerable. It's just somebody has decided to take action,' said Prada. 'It's all discretion and priority decisions. And right now the priority is to deport every person under the sun.' What advice do lawyers have for Cubans with I-220As? Prada told the Herald that giving hundreds of thousands of Cubans I-220A forms is a way for the executive branch, which includes the Department of Homeland Security, to get around the Cuban Adjustment Act through the back door, since it is a federal law that only Congress can repeal. Allen said that Cubans with I-220As should continue following the law and attending their immigration check-ins, but that they should be 'cautious.' Immigration lawyers say Cubans should seek other ways to adjust their immigration status, such as filing a political asylum claim or having a family members request a green card for them if possible. Prada's bottom line: 'Hire a competent lawyer who understands the situation — and fight.'
