The Cuban presenter Frank Abel Gómez Bernal, who was arrested on December 14 in Oklahoma following a traffic violation that led to a series of additional charges, has been handed over by the police to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This circumstance marks a critical turning point in his legal case and significantly worsens his immigration status.
The news was confirmed publicly by the influencer Destino Tolk, who has closely followed the process since his arrest in Oklahoma.
"Unfortunately, today Frank Abel was handed over from the police to ICE, to Immigration. Right now, Frank Abel is in the custody of Immigration, and his fate now depends on Immigration," Destino reported in a recent statement.
According to the Dominican communicator, from this delivery begins a period of approximately one month in which the presenter’s lawyer will have to work against the clock to try to prevent his deportation to Cuba.
Among the urgent actions that the defense must undertake is the gathering of documents that prove how Frank Abel entered the United States and the development of solid arguments that can convince a judge that the communicator should not be returned to the island.
"There is a month starting today, a deadline for the lawyer to take action. She needs to find the documents to justify how Frank Abel arrived in the United States, to demonstrate to a judge in court that Frank Abel cannot be deported to Cuba because if he is deported there, he could be imprisoned and face serious consequences," detailed Destino.
The main basis of the defense would be to demonstrate that, if returned to Cuba, Frank Abel would be in danger. However, the outlook is not promising.
Destino shared a revealing conversation with the lawyer, where she did not hide the unfavorable outlook of the case:
“She told me, I’m going to tell you the truth, Heidi told me, I can’t be hypocritical. There is a 90 percent chance that Frank Abel will be deported,” she said, quoting the lawyer verbatim.”
"That's how they told me, 'raw', without any anesthetic," emphasized the influencer.
From now on, the presenter’s fate is in the hands of the U.S. immigration system, something that was also confirmed by Univision journalist Mario Vallejo.
The statement indicated that ICE could deport the Cuban to a third country; however, considering that he arrived in the U.S. after 2021, the regime in Havana might ultimately accept his deportation.
While his defense tries to buy time and present convincing evidence, Frank Abel will remain in ICE custody, with no guarantees that he will be able to face the proceedings freely.
Arrest in Oklahoma
Frank Abel Gómez Bernal was arrested on December 14 in Oklahoma County after committing a traffic violation that triggered a series of legal charges.
The arrest took place after three in the morning on the mentioned day, when law enforcement officers apprehended him for making a left turn at a red light.
During the review, the officers discovered that he was driving with a suspended license and without valid vehicle insurance, which exacerbated the situation.
Additionally, according to accounts provided by Destino and Fernan in the podcast Destino Tolk, the host reportedly reacted with anxiety to the arrest and resisted apprehension.
“He was driving, the police stopped him, asked for his license, and apparently, the license was expired […] You know how Frank Abel is; he suffers from nerves and resisted the police,” Destino explained.
"Frank Abel is not aggressive; it seems that nerves, knowing the problems he had and his immigration situation, made him resist, and he panicked," added Fernan.
As a result, the police report includes four formal charges:
-Improper turn on public road.
Driving with a suspended license.
-Circular with inactive car insurance.
-Resistance to arrest.
At that moment, there were already fears that the local police might transfer the case to federal immigration authorities.
“We fear that when he is released, the police will hand him over to ICE, because he has immigration history due to his I-220A status and is awaiting court hearings,” Destino then warned.
A fragile immigration status
Frank Abel, 46 years old, emigrated to the United States in 2022 after leaving Cuba with an official passport. Since his arrival, he has not been able to regularize his immigration status, which has kept him in a situation of legal vulnerability.
It has been explained that he was under an I-220A, a form of supervised release pending judicial resolution.
This type of immigration background often raises concern among authorities when the individual is involved in legal proceedings, even for minor offenses.
In this case, the chain of charges has been sufficient to initiate the process of immigration detention and possible deportation.
The case has sparked expressions of solidarity among those close to the presenter and the Cuban community in the United States.
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