Young Cuban Man with I-220B Detained at ICE Appointment: "All He's Done is Work"

A young Cuban man holding an I-220B (Order of Supervision and Deportation) was detained during an immigration appointment and is now under the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miramar, Broward County.

Lisván Isidrón Cabrera, 26, entered the United States in March 2021 through the border, passed his credible fear interview but lost his political asylum case before immigration authorities.

"He has no one else, just me and his brother. We have no one in Cuba. I don't know what would happen if they send him back," expressed his mother, Mirielzi Cabrera, in a distressed tone to Telemundo.

The young man, originally from the city of Cienfuegos, obtained his work permit during these four years in the United States and was working in the maintenance department at an aquarium in Miami.

"We know of so many people who have been in the United States for years with serious crimes, and yet Cuba doesn't want them back," said the case attorney, Rosaly Chaviano, who has filed a motion to halt the deportation.

Chaviano also pointed out that they have observed a pattern in these deportations, specifically that Cuba tends to accept young people who have recently arrived in the United States.

"We haven't been officially told that this is a pattern, that they are doing it this way. However, based on what we've seen—the people who have been deported recently, the years they arrived, and their ages—this is what we understand," she explained.

Lisván's case joins those of other Cubans who have faced the bitter experience of being detained in an ICE prison and the possible deportation back to Cuba.

Other Similar Cases

Last year, Dachel Caballero, another Cuban with I-220B, was detained by ICE as soon as he arrived for his immigration appointment. Caballero had entered the United States illegally four years prior and lived with his wife and young son.

Another case is that of Francy Pérez, a Cuban who arrived in the United States by sea in October 2022. Pérez had been released with an electronic ankle monitor, which required him to report regularly to ICE offices. He was detained when attending one of these appointments.

Luis Alberto Martínez, another Cuban in a similar situation, was more fortunate last year when the U.S. government decided to temporarily suspend his extradition. "My deportation is on hold for a year, during which I have to continue the process with my lawyer until, God willing, I can obtain residency," he told journalist Eduardo Yusnaby Rodríguez from Telemundo 51.

At the end of June this year, a total of 56 Cuban migrants were deported by the U.S. government by air. The group, consisting of 12 women and 44 men, arrived at the José Martí International Airport in Havana.

With this operation, the number of deportations has reached 48, involving 744 people returned from various countries in the region, both by air and sea.