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The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported this Wednesday that Cuban citizen Tommy Gómez Mendibur was arrested on November 4 during the operation Midway Blitz, in coordination with the Indiana State Police, despite a judge having ordered his deportation months earlier.
According to the statement published by the agency on its X account, Gómez was ordered deported in June following a conviction for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and pending charges for human trafficking and possession of weapons in Texas.
Even so, he remained on U.S. territory and was driving commercial trucks when he was arrested.
ICE explained that the arrest was made as part of an operation aimed at locating immigrants with criminal records who continue to be in the country despite deportation orders.
"State borders do not stop criminals on the highways of the United States, but ICE and its partners in the 287(g) program do," the institution stated in its publication.
The case of Gómez Mendibur falls within the enhanced immigration control operations initiated by federal authorities to locate foreigners with criminal records who violate deportation orders.
U.S. immigration authorities have intensified surveillance and control over Cuban citizens with criminal records or irregular immigration processes.
In this context, a Cuban with a criminal record was arrested in Miami by ICE agents following an anonymous tip that revealed his irregular immigration status and a criminal history that included domestic violence and drug possession.
The detainee was residing in a home without valid documents and will be subjected to a deportation process.
In another similar case, a Cuban citizen was arrested in Georgia by Border Patrol (CBP) agents, after it was confirmed that he was facing multiple pending charges for fraud and theft in different states.
The man had entered the United States through the southern border and was on provisional release while his immigration case was being processed.
ICE also recently carried out the deportation of a Cuban who still had his residency application pending, under the provisions of the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Despite having initiated the legal process, the authorities deemed that his criminal record and a prior expulsion order were sufficient reasons to impose the measure.
Additionally, a Cuban who arrived in the country during the Mariel exodus is awaiting deportation, after having spent decades on U.S. soil.
Despite having worked legally for years, he was detained by ICE and remains in a detention center, awaiting a ruling that could end his stay in the U.S.
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