Belkis Castillo Méndez, mother of Beatriz Monteagudo, a Cuban with I-220A, detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in Miramar (Broward) on March 10, and transferred five days later to the Otay Center in San Diego, California, is asking for help from all Cubans, especially those from the province of Sancti Spíritus living in the United States, to assist her in raising funds to pay for her daughter's lawyer. "Help me help her," she says despondently to CiberCuba.
Beatriz Monteagudo's mother explains in videos sent to this platform that her daughter went to the ICE offices in Miramar because she was summoned to appear, and she was detained there. "She is a young woman who crossed the border about a year ago. She arrived in the United States and was given an I-220A; she had already filed for political asylum; she was summoned to court in February, and even though they hadn't given her a date after that, she was already processing her work permit. We have not been able to communicate with her where she is being held."
A friend of the young woman who turns 26 this year (August 28, 1999) has launched a petition on GoFundme.com under the title, "Help for a Lawyer", in which they express gratitude in advance for any contributions that would allow them to hire legal assistance for Beatriz Monteagudo, who is currently sharing a cell with common inmates in California. So far, they have only been able to raise $610, an amount insufficient to cover bail, which, according to immigration experts, can vary between $3,000 and $12,000 depending on the judge.
Beatriz Monteagudo, who graduated with a technical specialty in Medical Sciences in Cuba, was transferred to San Diego three days ago from Broward, with a stop in Arizona. She has not been informed at all about her immediate future. Her financial situation is precarious because she did not have a work permit and was waiting to obtain one. In fact, she was hoping to receive notification about whether it would be granted to her or not, but ICE in Miramar took her phone, so she is unaware if she has that permit now.
Her mother fears that Beatriz Monteagudo will be deported to Cuba, after all that happened to reach the border of the United States with Mexico in search of freedom. "If there is no freedom there, where is it?" she wonders from Cuba, visibly saddened by the fate her daughter may face. She openly states that the young woman does not want to be there because she disagrees with the political system of the Communist Party.
Following the news of the arrests of Cuban women with I-220A, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar advocated for them and urged senior officials of ICE to stop the detentions of these individuals as she plans to bring a bill to Congress that would allow them to receive parole and thus be able to apply for the Cuban Adjustment Act.
The immigration expert lawyer Willy Allen believes that the three Cuban-American congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, and María Elvira Salazar possess enough influence to compel the Department of Homeland Security to address the issue of Cubans with I-220A, as he believes that once identified and admitted in the United States, they are indeed eligible for the Cuban Adjustment Act. In his view, it is an administrative decision that depends solely on political will.
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