Florida immigration attorney Willy Allen has explained in his weekly program on CiberCuba that there is no new law or a new ICE measure affecting detained immigrants in the United States because what they are doing is applying a regulation from 1996 and the doctrine of Matter of Q. Li, which, in his opinion, "is a double-edged sword."
"The immigration law, amended in 1996, mandated the mandatory detention of all individuals who entered through the border and requested asylum. So it is not a new law; it has existed since 1996, but it has been impossible to enforce due to the number of people who have always entered, and there are only 42,000 beds available for detention," Allen noted.
Regarding the ruling of the Immigration Court in the Matter of Q. Li, the attorney clarified why he considers this judicial decision a "double-edged sword." "One part of Q. Li states that anyone who has entered through the border in an irregular manner and has requested asylum can only be released under parole" (which benefits those with I-220A, as with parole they could apply for the Cuban Adjustment Act after one year and one day in the United States).
"At the same time, the Matter of Q. Li also states that they can detain you without the right to bail throughout the entire process. What's going on? The Cubans who have been detained in court and reporting to Miramar have I-220A; their classification is changed from 235 or 236 to apply the Matter of Q. Li. In other words, mandatory detention while they fight their asylum case. If they are willing to apply the Matter of Q. Li to deny me bail, I will fight as well and I will explain why my client, especially if they have been in the United States for over two years, does not qualify for mandatory detention, but we will also fight for residency while in detention," he said.
"There have already been a couple of judges, mainly in San Antonio, who have approved residency applications under Matter of Q. Li. A couple of judges in Miami have not approved the residency applications, but have granted extensions to the cases to see how Matter of Q. Li unfolds," he added.
In Allen's opinion, it is important to observe how the court decisions regarding Matter of Q. Li unfold. "But for now, the immediate application means that detained individuals are going to face a significant problem in obtaining bail because the government, through its prosecutors, will oppose granting them bail. At this moment, anyone detained will have a serious fight to be released on bail or under any other conditions," he emphasized.
In his view, the problem is that at this moment, it is impossible to determine how much time we are talking about in the case of detention. "If you entered through the border and request asylum, you must go through the entire process in detention. If you win, fantastic, welcome to the empire, you will enter. If you lose, you are in detention and they will deport you to your country. That is what they are enforcing using Matter of Q. Li," he concluded.
Last May, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) confirmed that immigrants who enter the United States without authorization and are then released should have been legally granted a temporary stay permit (parole).
In the Matter of Q. Li, 29 I&N Dec. 66 (BIA 2025) concerning a Chinese immigrant, the ruling does not directly mention Cuba, but its implications could affect thousands of Cubans who crossed the border and were released without receiving a formal "parole".
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