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A Cuban who had been deported to Cuba despite not having a final expulsion order returned to the United States after spending one month and 11 days on the island, in a case that has raised serious questions about alleged irregularities committed by U.S. immigration authorities.
Alejandro Ramírez Díaz, 38 years old, recently returned to U.S. territory with a travel permit issued in Havana. However, upon arrival, he was once again detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where he remains in custody as he continues the legal battle for his immigration status, according to information from Telemundo 51.
According to her lawyer, Gladys Carredeguas, Ramírez Díaz received an I-220A form after crossing the border, and his court case was dismissed in October 2025, so in her view, he should never have been expelled from the country.
«There was no legal way to deport him to Cuba, he never signed a deportation,» the lawyer stated to Telemundo 51, where she reported multiple inconsistencies in the procedure.
Carredeguas also questioned how the authorities carried out the deportation despite the fact that the Cuban had pending legal resources.
"How are you going to detain a person with an expired passport, who does not have a final deportation order, with an appeal and a Habeas Corpus? Legally incorrect," he stated.
The deportation took place on March 19, amid an active appeal and while the defense was trying to halt the process. However, according to family testimony, Ramírez Díaz was unexpectedly placed on a flight to Cuba.
For his wife, Aimee Febles, the mother of their two children, the last few months have been marked by fear and uncertainty.
"She is a person who has never had any problems, neither with the police nor with a ticket. That is what is most surprising," she expressed.
Febles also expressed distrust towards the U.S. immigration system following what happened to her husband.
"We are seeing that they sometimes have no knowledge of what they are doing, nor of the people they are calling," he lamented.
In response to the deportation, the defense urgently approached a federal judge through a Habeas Corpus.
"We had to approach the judge where we were submitting the Habeas Corpus, inform him of the catastrophic error, and request an injunction to demand that ICE return him immediately," explained Carredeguas.
The appeal finally took effect and allowed the Cuban to return to the U.S. However, his situation remains shrouded in legal uncertainty.
The lawyer indicated that, upon returning with parole, a new debate has now opened regarding the true immigration status of Ramírez Díaz.
"If you gave him a parole, what is the status of this individual who initially entered through the border, was mistakenly deported, and then brought back?" he questioned.
According to Carredeguas, ICE has already contacted the defense and assured that it will try to resolve the case, although so far the agency has not publicly responded to the requests for information made since Monday.
The family hopes that the process will conclude with the release of the Cuban and that he can resume the path toward permanent residency in the United States, after an experience they consider a nightmare marked by mistakes and contradictory immigration decisions.
This case is not the first of its kind. On May 1st, another Cuban with I-220A was deported in violation of a court order, and his lawyer also successfully obtained a federal judge's immediate return order with parole through habeas corpus.
The legal situation surrounding the I-220A is the subject of active litigation across the country. The document does not formally equate to a parole according to the Department of Homeland Security, which excludes its holders from the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. However, a judge in Arizona granted residency to a Cuban with an I-220A in February, setting an individual precedent.
The case occurs in a context of mass deportations of Cubans under the Trump administration, with a 463% increase in arrests between late 2024 and late 2025. In 2025, 1,370 Cubans were deported on direct flights to Havana, and in the first few months of 2026, at least 530 more were deported on four additional flights.
Approximately 400,000 Cubans are in a legal limbo with I-220A awaiting a judicial ruling in the U.S.
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