The immigration lawyer Willy Allen III described in an interview with CiberCuba how litigants are accumulating progressive legal victories in favor of Cubans holding the I-220A form seeking permanent residency in the United States, gradually undermining the arguments of the federal government.
"Battle after battle after battle. Little by little, we are winning. But we will fight until there is nothing left to fight for," declared Allen, who pointed out that every favorable court ruling creates new inconsistencies in the government's position.
The most recent and specific example cited by Allen was the victory of attorney Liudmila Marcelo, who managed to get an Immigration Court judge in Orlando to grant residency to a Cuban client holding an I-220A last Tuesday.
Marcelo's legal argument was based on an admission by the federal government in Mark Prada’s lawsuit before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the government acknowledged that it was a mistake to release these individuals with I-220A instead of doing so through formal parole under section 212(d)(5), which is equivalent to an admission of legal entry.
Allen also pointed out that a recent court ruling in the circuit regarding the right to bail for individuals who entered without inspection creates a new contradiction that further weakens the government.
"It is another inconsistency created by the announcement in the circuit that further weakens the government's arguments," he explained, recalling that the central argument of the I-220A is precisely that its bearers were inspected and admitted, unlike those who entered without inspection.
"Little by little we are removing and dismantling the government's argument," Allen summarized.
The lawyer anticipated that the government would appeal Orlando's decision, but responded firmly: "Let them appeal. That's fine."
Allen also revealed that there is a judge at the East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, who is also granting residencies based on the I-220A argument, although he deliberately avoided disclosing her name. "I will do like Luzmila and not mention the names of the judges who are on our side," he explained, following the same caution practiced by Marcelo to protect the favorable judges.
"One judge, two judges, three judges by our side. Granting residences based on the argument of I-220A," Allen projected with optimism.
This cumulative strategy follows a trend that began to take shape in February, when a judge in Arizona granted residency to Dayan Hernández-Medina, the first Cuban with an I-220A to receive it while detained by ICE. Earlier, in August 2025, a judge in New Orleans also interpreted the I-220A as a valid parole.
However, the lawyers warn that the results are not automatic. Marcelo herself emphasized that in immigration matters, each case is specific and presenting the case before the wrong judge means losing the $2,980 fee without any chance of success.
The I-220A form affects more than 300,000 Cubans who received it after irregular entries, mainly by sea or land border, processed without formal parole, and who have historically been excluded from the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.
Allen, who in most of his cases submits a brief argument in favor of the I-220A, concluded with a promise: they will continue fighting for immigration changes "until the moment there is nothing left to fight for."
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