She has escaped deportation! The young Cuban Elienay Estrada, I-220B and mother of a two-month-old baby, has managed to buy time and after being urgently summoned to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, she has been granted a year to await the processing of her family reunification application in U.S. territory.
Estrada went to the urgent interview she had this Tuesday at the ICE office with great faith, after her annual appointment in 2025, just a few days earlier, resulted in her documentation being stamped and a date set for 2026. Shortly thereafter, she received a text message and an email summoning her again for June 24.
Most of the lawyers she consulted refused to accompany her because they assumed that being an I-220B meant she was being called to execute her deportation. She managed to get attorney Irma Yanet Ramírez to agree to represent her, and it was this attorney who chose to file a stay of deportation last Wednesday, arguing that she is the mother of a two-month-old baby and that she has a family reunification process underway.
"I'm back home. It was indeed about deporting me. Thankfully, the lawyer managed to gain a little more time to file for a case reopening and see what we can do," he said this Tuesday, just after arriving home, in remarks to CiberCuba.
"That worked. They were going to deport me at this appointment, but they gave me another one for a year from now. So we have this year even though they could call me sooner, but for now, we're hoping that doesn't happen," he added to this platform.
"We have a year to try to reopen the case and do something, but today was indeed meant for my deportation," he insisted.
Elienay Estrada became a mother in Fort Myers just two months ago and feared facing the same fate as Heidy Sánchez Tejeda, who was indeed deported to Cuba in April, leaving behind a one-and-a-half-year-old baby who was still nursing at the time of their separation. The case, as could be expected, outraged the Cuban community in exile.
Following the uproar caused by the deportation of Heidy Sánchez, the case of Eleinay Estrada gained greater attention. She even reached out for help from the office of her district congressman, Republican Carlos Giménez, who stated he would do everything possible to assist her despite the narrow timeframe they had (just five days before the appointment with ICE).
Finally, Elienay Estrada has not been deported and will be able to stay in the United States for a year to see if during that time she receives family reunification, allowing her to reopen her case and continue her life with her baby and her husband.
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