Mother Deported to Cuba Pleads for Family Reunification in the U.S.

Vivian Limonta Reyes, a Cuban mother of a two-year-old boy, was deported last week from the United States along with 47 others. From the island, she has been pleading with immigration authorities to reconsider her case and allow her to return to her son and husband, a Cuban-American citizen. Her son has been diagnosed with ADHD and is awaiting an evaluation in November for possible autism.

The separation has been devastating for Vivian, who says she can't stop thinking about her son and the difficult challenge her husband faces in caring for him alone. "My mind is there, thinking about that little boy and the struggle his father is going through. It's the hardest thing I've ever lived through. Since I arrived on Tuesday, I haven't known what it is to eat," she told Telemundo 51, visibly emotional.

Her husband, Osmani Pérez, is also desperate in Florida, suddenly facing the challenge of being the sole economic and emotional support for their child. "I can do everything possible as a father, but now I am both father and mother. I have to be the provider too. I don't know, a mother's affection can't be replaced," he lamented.

"I am sincerely very disappointed with this country. I have been here for 31 years, I am a citizen, and the child was born here. I don't understand how they don't take that into account," he added.

Vivian Limonta was sent back to Cuba last week after spending a month in the Broward Detention Center. She had lived in the U.S. since 2020 with an I-220B, which allowed her to stay in the country after entering irregularly. However, her life changed drastically during her fifth immigration appointment in Miramar.

"On July 15, I went to sign, and at 12:30, a deportation officer came out and told me I was going to be transferred to Broward," Limonta recalls. She remembers being told, "Limonta, pack up; you are leaving on today's deportation flight."

Immigration attorney Eduardo Soto, who is handling Limonta's case, stated that a deportation stay has been filed, and they are awaiting the federal court's decision. Meanwhile, the uncertainty and pain persist.

From Cuba, Vivian Limonta implores for a second chance, not just for herself but especially for the emotional well-being of her son, whose medical condition requires his mother's presence. "What is happening is not fair. Today it was me with my two-year-old, but tomorrow it could be another mother. It's not fair that they are separating mothers from their children," she concluded.

Vivian also called on ICE authorities to consider each case individually before making decisions that can tear families apart. This Cuban mother appeals for a second chance mainly due to her son's clinical condition, making the case even more delicate.

Previously, it was reported that Vivian Limonta's husband attempted to stop her deportation through Congressman Carlos Giménez's office, which issued a statement regretting what had happened. When the case became public last month, it was noted that Vivian participated in the MPP immigration program initiated by the U.S. in 2019. She had trouble attending an immigration appointment and was automatically given a deportation in absentia. After four years, that I-220B document caught up with her.

Between April 2023 and August of this year, a total of 816 Cubans have been deported to the island.