ICE detains a Cuban in San Antonio, leaving his wife alone with a newborn

The life of Mariela Baullosa changed abruptly on September 16 in San Antonio, Texas. That day, her husband Alberto Martínez, 30 years old and also Cuban, went to a routine appointment with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and never came back out. Since then, the young 21-year-old mother has been facing the upbringing of her newborn daughter alone.

“Only him,” she said through tears to Univisión Noticias San Antonio. The baby, Kimberly, had just turned one month old when ICE summoned Alberto due to alleged issues with the electronic ankle monitor he was wearing.

"On the 15th, the same day the baby turned one month old, he was called on the phone... He showed up on the morning of the 16th and never left again," Mariela recounted.

Alberto arrived in the United States in 2022 after crossing the Rio Bravo and surrendering to immigration authorities. According to his wife, he has no criminal record, held a work permit valid until 2030, and was in the process of regularizing his status through marriage to Mariela, who is a legal resident.

Despite this, he remains in ICE custody at a detention center in Texas, awaiting a hearing scheduled for October 29.

The uncertainty weighs on the family: “My husband was my financial support because unfortunately, I still can't work. The baby is still breastfeeding and here in this country, I have no family; I only had him,” Mariela confessed.

Desperate, the young woman posted on the same day in a Facebook group in San Antonio asking for help: "I need a lawyer to advise me regarding my husband who is detained by ICE."

A pattern that strikes Cubans

The case of Mariela and Alberto adds to a series of recent stories of Cubans separated from their families amid migration processes in the U.S.

In Arizona, Harold Luis Navarro was detained after finishing his work shift and has yet to meet his newborn baby. In Florida, a Cuban mother is left alone with her days-old child after her husband was taken to a newly opened deportation center. And in even more extreme cases, such as Heidy Sánchez or Deivy Alemán, deportations have resulted in irreparable separations from their young American citizen children.

Activists and lawyers warn that the lack of transparency and the discretion of ICE create a climate of insecurity among Cuban migrant families. Beyond the statistics, what is repeated are scenes of pain: young mothers alone, children without their parents, and homes shattered overnight.