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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested two Cuban citizens with extensive criminal records in separate operations conducted in California, according to the federal agency announced on its official account on the social network X.
A statement from ICE San Diego confirmed this Thursday the arrest of René Wilson, an undocumented immigrant from Cuba with criminal convictions for failing to register as a sex offender, indecent exposure, drug trafficking, and voyeurism.
The agency reported that Wilson will remain in federal custody awaiting his deportation.
At the end of April, ICE announced the arrest of Manuel de Armas, 67 years old, with previous convictions for improper handling of a vehicle, possession of controlled substances with the intent to sell, transportation and sale of a controlled substance, and making threats with the intent to intimidate.
Both cases add to recent arrests of Cubans with serious criminal records during ICE operations, as part of the tightening of the immigration system in the United States under the policies implemented by the administration of President Donald Trump since January 2025, aimed at curbing illegal immigration and strengthening law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reiterated that approximately 70% of the arrests made by ICE involve immigrants who have been convicted or accused of crimes in the U.S.
Recently, ICE arrested in Miami, Florida, Juan García López, a Cuban with multiple criminal convictions, two of which are for intentional homicide. His profile was included by DHS in the "Worst of the Worst" list, which highlights foreign immigrants with the most serious criminal records arrested in the U.S.
Broward County authorities handed over the Cuban Noslan Ruiz Bernal to ICE, arrested for the second time for armed burglary.
According to a report by the Cato Institute based on official data from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and ICE, the immigration landscape for Cubans has taken a drastic turn since the end of 2024: fewer approved residencies and many more arrests within the country.
The arrests of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between October 2024 and January 2026. That same period recorded a collapse of 99.8% in the approvals of permanent residencies for nationals of the island, which dropped from over 10,000 per month to just 15 last January.
In line with the increase in the arrests of Cuban citizens by ICE, deportations have also risen, primarily to third countries, due to the reluctance of the Havana regime to accept nationals with a criminal record in the U.S. who have been in that country since before 2017.
Although an official statistic has not been published, it has been reported that at least 6,000 Cubans were deported to Mexico in the last year, a number that could be even higher. Likewise, the Trump administration has sent Cuban citizens to countries in Africa and others in America, such as Ecuador.
Meanwhile, deportation flights to Havana continue. From January to date, ICE has carried out at least four air operations for this purpose directly to the Cuban capital, totaling 494 repatriated individuals. Since the beginning of Trump’s second presidential term, 1,992 Cubans have been deported to the island, bringing the total to 5,377 during his two administrations.
This Thursday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that recognizes the right to a bail hearing for migrants in ICE custody, although this ruling may not necessarily benefit detainees with serious criminal backgrounds, who are subject to removal.
According to DHS data, as of 2025, 42,084 Cubans had final deportation orders.
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