Cuban Mother with I-220A Detained During ICE Appointment

A Cuban woman holding an I-220A and mother to a young child born in the United States was taken into custody on Monday during her routine check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miramar, Broward County. The woman, identified as Yadira Cantallops, had sought asylum in the United States and has a court date scheduled for April.

Yadira and her husband entered the U.S. through the southern border in January 2022, both receiving an I-220A. Despite adhering to her immigration check-ins, during her third appointment with ICE, she was unexpectedly detained without a clear explanation. "Around three in the afternoon, an officer came out and told me she was being detained. When I asked why, since she had filed for asylum, the officer said he didn't know," recounted her husband, Ernesto, to Univision.

The couple had applied for asylum with the assistance of a notary, who submitted their case to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). However, the case was not listed in the immigration court system, an issue they are now addressing with lawyer Jesús Novo. "Initially, we thought this might be the reason, but we've had other cases where individuals who filed for asylum in court were also detained. It's concerning, yet not everyone with an I-220A is being detained," Novo commented.

Ernesto is in shock over the situation, stating, "She had her phone, she checked in, everything seemed normal, we were living our lives." Currently, his wife remains at the Broward Transitional Center (BTC) for migrants, where she has been for four nights.

Political Persecution History Intensifies the Case

The situation becomes more severe when considering the family's history of political persecution in Cuba. The regime targeted Cantallops' family due to their human rights activism. Her mother, Mailin Hernández, stated that they received political asylum but couldn't travel to the U.S. due to health issues. From Cuba, she is pleading that her daughter not be deported. "Since she was little, she suffered the harassment and repression firsthand," Hernández lamented.

Cousin Ariel Góngora took to social media to denounce the injustice of the detention and the family's political background. "Her asylum should be credible. This young woman suffered under tyranny. Born in the provincial headquarters of the human rights movement 'Claridad', she faced political harassment and persecution from a young age. Her uncle, political prisoner Lorenzo García, a founder of the opposition movement, and her mother, the treasurer, were dedicated to assisting political prisoners and exposing the injustices of the Castro regime. Her father, my cousin Alberto Cantallops, was also sentenced to six years in prison, enduring the regime's harsh treatment," Góngora wrote on social media.

Góngora shared a screenshot of a Whatsapp message from Hernández, who detailed the family's history and urgently called for the case to gain attention. "Arielito, it's Mailin, the wife of your cousin Albertico. I need your number to call you because I'm without power and trying to communicate from my roof to make Yadira's case viral," Hernández wrote.

The Family's Struggle Amidst Detention

While Yadira remains detained, Ernesto faces the challenging task of explaining to their child why his mother isn't home, telling him for now that she is "working." "It's tough to separate a child from their mother," Ernesto expressed.

This Thursday, Yadira has an appointment with her deportation officer, who will decide whether she can be released on bond or if her case will be escalated to an immigration judge. Yadira Cantallops is now part of a growing number of Cubans with I-220 attending ICE appointments, similar to the case of Laura de la Caridad Sánchez.