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A Cuban with a deportation order since 2012 and a criminal record was arrested by federal and state authorities when he appeared at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Orlando, Florida.
USCIS announced the arrest in a brief statement published this Thursday on the social network X, where it mentioned that the Cuban citizen irregularly entered the U.S. in 2004 and was convicted by the courts in 2008, although it did not specify what charges were brought against him.
The post shows photos of the handcuffed detainee being escorted by two officers from inside the office to a vehicle, but his identity was not disclosed.
“This illegal immigrant from Cuba fraudulently entered the country in 2004, was convicted of a crime in 2008, and was ordered deported in 2012. He has been here illegally all this time,” emphasized the note.
Agents from the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) in Orlando detained him when he arrived at the USCIS offices in that city.
"Along with our state and local partners, the Department of Homeland Security is making America safe again!" the communication concluded.
The day before, USCIS issued a stark warning to immigrants: if they have an outstanding arrest warrant and show up at one of its offices to apply for immigration benefits, they will be detained.
This statement has important implications for migrants who are in irregular situations or facing pending charges. USCIS offices, while focused on administrative processes, also maintain verification protocols and collaborate with law enforcement.
However, the authorities are not only targeting immigrants with criminal records and pending legal issues, but are also pursuing undocumented individuals who attend scheduled immigration appointments to continue their legal processes.
Since May, ICE has carried out hundreds of migrant arrests as they left their routine hearings in immigration courts, where they hoped to make progress in their processes to regularize their status in the U.S.
This new strategy was implemented by the DHS with the intention of applying expedited removal procedures to individuals who have entered the country in the past two years.
National Security, with the consent of immigration judges, is withdrawing pending immigration cases of some foreigners, as expedited deportation cannot be applied if the cause remains open before a court. Once the case is closed, the immigrant is detained by ICE and placed in a fast-track removal process, which does not require an additional hearing.
At the end of May, several Cubans were arrested after appearing in hearings before the immigration court in downtown Miami. The operations, carried out by ICE officers in plain clothes, took place in the hallways of the court, immediately after the judges dismissed their cases.
Recently, there have also been reports of arrests of Cuban immigrants at immigration appointments at the ICE office in Miramar, which has raised concerns among the citizens of the island who are undergoing similar processes to legalize their immigration status.
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