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The anguish of a Cuban mother in Houston is moving social media after her husband was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a scheduled appointment, leaving her alone and without resources alongside their five-year-old son.
Belén, as she identifies on TikTok, posted a tearful video explaining that her husband went to his appointment on December 3, which he was required to attend every three months, and despite attending with a lawyer, he was taken into ICE custody. "I am alone in this country with my child. I don't work; everything was my husband. I don't have a work permit, I have nothing," she said, her voice trembling.
The woman recounted that the lawyer had warned them there was a possibility of detention because her husband did not have a designated court date, which affects thousands of migrants with open cases. "If you see me leave alone, it's because they kept him detained," he told her before entering. And that’s exactly what happened.
Now, Belén faces a situation without authorized employment, without a license, without income, and with a child who is asking about his father. “How do I explain to my child that his dad is not going to be here with us?” she lamented. “My husband was everything to us; he worked, he provided for everything.”
In her videos, she only asks for support to generate income from home while going through this crisis. "I don't ask anyone for anything, just for them to follow me to see if I can at least TikTok and work from here. I'm alone with my child and have nowhere to turn."
The support of the Cuban community
The Cuban influencer Dairon Cano (@dairon_cano_aguila) spoke with her to amplify her story.
"It's sad everything that is happening to us Cubans," she said after hearing the young woman's testimony. "Follow this mother who is going through an incredibly tough time; she is not alone."
Belén assures that several people were also detained on the same day at the ICE office in Houston. "Those who got out, thank God, but my husband was not one of them," she said between sobs.
The case of Belén is not isolated. Recently, a Cuban woman in Miami, Belixa, also reported the sudden detention of her husband after attending his first court hearing, despite having no criminal record or fines.
His testimony, like that of many other Cubans seeking asylum, reflects the growing fear within the community regarding stricter ICE measures.
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