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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Newark arrested Michel Proenza Martínez, an undocumented Cuban citizen with a final deportation order, immediately after he was released from a federal prison in New Jersey.
ICE described Proenza Martínez as an "illegal criminal offender" with an extensive record that includes burglary, vehicle theft, drug-related offenses, and federal robbery under the Hobbs Act, a serious charge that can carry up to 20 years in prison for each count and requires serving 85% of the sentence without the possibility of parole.
The Cuban is in the process of being expelled from the U.S., according to a statement released this week by the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) of ICE in Newark.
This case follows a pattern of other recent ICE arrests, in which they intercept undocumented immigrants with deportation orders right at the exit of correctional facilities. On March 6, ERO Newark arrested Cuban Álvaro Tuero, convicted of sexual assault against a 13-year-old minor as he was leaving the Bridgeton state prison.
That same day, ICE arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, the Cuban José Adalberto Miranda Espino, who had a record for second-degree murder and had a final deportation order issued since January 18, 2001.
Also, at the beginning of March, agents in Detroit, Michigan, arrested the Cuban Aliosky Rosales Michelena, who has a history of homicide, armed robbery, sexual assault, and drug trafficking, as well as an active deportation order since 2010.
The operations are part of the intensified actions by ICE under the second administration of President Donald Trump, which prioritizes the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal records. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that approximately 70% of those arrested by ICE are convicted criminals or face active criminal proceedings.
In parallel, deportations of Cubans to the island have significantly increased. On February 9, the first repatriation flight of the year arrived in Havana with 170 individuals, of which at least 50 have convictions for serious crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and drug trafficking, as confirmed by the U.S. government.
The acceptance by the Cuban regime of nationals with criminal records in the U.S. marks a significant milestone in deportation policy, given Havana's reluctance to accept back citizens of the island who committed crimes and have remained in that country since before January 2017.
Until March 19, ICE had completed three flights with 403 Cubans deported so far in 2026.
According to DHS figures, since January 2025, 1,901 Cubans have been deported, bringing the total of immigrants from the island expelled during both terms of Trump to 5,286, a historic record that far exceeds those recorded under the administrations of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush.
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