The story of Alcibiades “Alex” Lázaro Ramírez González took an even more painful turn on Tuesday. An immigration judge ordered his deportation to Ecuador, a country with which he has no ties, a decision that not only tears him away from the place where he built his life in the United States, but also separates him from his husband, who is detained in another parallel immigration process.
Ramírez González, of Cuban origin and an employee at SUNY Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, was arrested by ICE agents last October when he and his partner were attending a routine immigration appointment. Since then, he has been held at the Batavia detention center, while his husband, Yannier “Yan” Vázquez Hidalgo, is incarcerated in the same facility but in separate areas, with the two only able to see each other briefly through glass or in passing in the hallways, as reported by family members to Local SYR.
The decision has caused confusion among family members, unions, and activists, who are questioning why he is being sent to a country where he has no family, residence, or history. “We don’t understand why the judge chose Ecuador,” acknowledged Ali Cottrell, president of the union representing hospital workers, as quoted by syracuse.com, while also questioning the humanitarian aspect of the decision.
Alex arrived in the United States fleeing homophobia and persecution in Cuba. In Syracuse, he found something that many Cubans on the island can only imagine: stability, a job, a home of his own, and the possibility of starting a family without hiding.
He worked as a supervisor in the environmental services department of the hospital and was described by colleagues and union leaders as an exemplary employee, diligent and respected in the community.
His cousin, Jesús Manuel Gorra, told Local SYR that each visit to the detention center has become an exercise in emotional resilience. “We have to lift his spirits and tell him not to lose hope,” he said. The concern grows not only because of the deportation itself but also due to the psychological impact of sending him alone to a foreign country, while his husband remains detained awaiting a hearing scheduled for January 22.
According to syracuse.com, both men had sought asylum in the United States and passed immigration evaluations that acknowledged a credible threat to their lives if they returned to Cuba due to their sexual orientation. Nonetheless, the process ended up separating them and placing them in a legal limbo that now threatens to permanently disrupt their life together.
Labor organizations and local activists have denounced the case as an extreme example of the harshness of current immigration policies.
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