Yuliamnis Alejandro Nieto Matamoros, a 45-year-old Cuban citizen residing in Texas, has been detained for almost four months at the Bluebonnet detention center after being arrested on January 8 during a routine appointment with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite having active humanitarian parole and an adjustment of status application under the Cuban Adjustment Act pending for more than two years.
His wife reported the case and called for it to be made visible: "We are deeply concerned about the treatment he is receiving, being treated like a criminal despite having no prior record. We are also worried about the lack of clarity and delays in his process, which is affecting his emotional stability and that of his family."
Nieto Matamoros himself explained in a video shared on social media how his arrest occurred: "I went to my third appointment with ICE. After going through the process with them, they called me and asked if I had ever attended any court since I arrived in the country. I told them that I had never been assigned a court date. So the officer told me that was my problem, and that's why they were going to arrest me."
The Cuban, identified by case number A# 240093614, entered the United States on October 18, 2022 and has accumulated more than three and a half years of residence in Texas without a criminal record.
From the detention center, Nieto Matamoros described the paradox of his situation: "I've been here for three months already with a status adjustment in place, holding humanitarian parole, having a five-year license, a driver's license, and a work permit for five years, a social security number, and yet I have been here for three months."
"The judge handling my case acknowledged my eligibility, but the resolution hasn't arrived: 'The judge told me that with my parole, I was eligible. He asked me for all the evidence of that, and yet I'm still here; I'm going on my fourth month of being here.'"
Nieto Matamoros submitted the I-485 form under the Cuban Adjustment Act more than two years ago and has been waiting for a response from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for three months. He has appeared in three hearings without resolution and has a fourth one scheduled for April 23.
In the video, the detainee appealed directly to the law: "All I am asking is that the judge in my next court hearing, which is on the 23rd of this month, adhere to the laws and not overlook my status adjustment, which is an I-485 application under the Cuban Adjustment Act, which is in the constitution of this country. That is inviolable, that is something inviolable, and they know it well, and here they act as if they don't know."
Her complaint goes beyond her individual case: "They are committing tremendous injustices against us. Almost all of us, nearly everyone here, has no criminal record, and they are deporting us or sending us to third countries that are not ours."
The case adds to a documented pattern of detentions of Cubans during routine appointments with ICE. Ariel Lara González, also on parole and undergoing the Cuban Adjustment Act process, was detained in June 2025 and deported in November of that year. Daniel Alejandro Escobar Rodríguez remained in ICE custody for 80 days following a routine appointment in December 2025 and was released through a habeas corpus petition. Iván García Pérez, a 26-year-old Cuban nurse with no criminal record, was detained in November 2025 in Miramar, Florida.
Texas accounts for one in four ICE arrests under the Trump administration's crackdown, and detention populations have reached record levels since mid-June of 2025. Nieto Matamoros's wife concluded her statement with a direct plea: "We ask for attention, fair review of your case, and respect for your rights."
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