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Xiomara Companioni González, a 63-year-old Cuban, has been detained for over six months by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the El Valle detention center in Raymondville, Texas, without any criminal history and with a medical condition that her family describes as critical.
According to her daughter Yaimi Yanet Companioni's report to Univision, Xiomara was detained on November 13, 2025 during a routine immigration check, without prior notice, despite having met all legal requirements since her arrival in the United States in August 2022.
A sick woman who complied with the law
Xiomara entered the United States through California, voluntarily surrendering to immigration officials at the border. She was released under the I-220A form - Order of Supervised Release - and has since attended every annual appointment with ICE punctually.
She has a valid work permit until 2030, an active social security number, an I-130 family petition approved by her daughter - a U.S. citizen who has been in the country for over 12 years - and an active appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) since March 2026.
"My mom is not a criminal; she is an elderly person, she is sick, and her whole family is in this country," Yaimi stated to N+ Univision.
Xiomara left Cuba for political reasons. Her daughter warns that a deportation would be devastating: "If my mom goes back to Cuba, they'll make her disappear."
A health condition that worsens without proper attention
The most alarming aspect of the case is Xiomara's physical condition. She suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, a hiatal hernia, anxiety episodes, a gynecological condition that requires surgical intervention, and a mass in her right breast that needs regular monitoring to rule out cancer.
"My mother is in critical health at this moment. She has diabetes, hypertension, a hiatal hernia, a gynecological issue that requires surgery, bleeding, and a nodule in a breast that was found before she was taken into custody," Yaimi recounted to elToque.
According to her daughter, Xiomara can hardly walk, and ICE officers themselves have to assist her in moving around the center. Medical attention has been inadequate: she is given Tylenol for chest pain and a cream that, according to the family, worsens her gynecological condition.
"The medications they are giving her do not resolve her situation," Yaimi reported. The situation reached an extreme point when Xiomara attempted to harm herself inside the center. "She wanted to hurt herself because she said she couldn't take the pain any longer," her daughter recounted.
Three denied bonds and one habeas corpus rejected
Since November 2025, the family has exhausted almost all legal avenues: three bail applications, a habeas corpus filed in January 2026 — denied in May — and the appeal to the BIA.
"I have paid a lot of money and so far, I haven't resolved anything," lamented Yaimi.
Immigration attorney Haim Vásquez explained the underlying legal obstacle: "The legal precedent established in the state of Texas and under the Fifth Circuit is that if you have entered the border without being admitted, you are not eligible for bail."
This framework was solidified by the BIA's decision in the Matter of Yajure Hurtado case in September 2025, which eliminated the right to bond hearings for most detained immigrants who entered without authorization, and was upheld by the Fifth Circuit on February 6, 2026.
A pattern that affects dozens of Cubans with I-220A
Xiomara's case is not an isolated one. Since March 2025, mass detentions of Cubans with I-220A have been documented during routine ICE appointments, with at least 18 cases recorded in southern Florida in just one month.
Similar cases include those of Katia Pérez Baute and Suzel Velázquez Raigada, all reporting inadequate medical care.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Xiomara "illegally entered in 2022 near Calexico, California"; and that "she is receiving due process while in ICE custody."
Her daughter rejects that version: “She is paying like a criminal for something she really hasn't done; all she wanted was to be with us.”
The appeal to the BIA, in effect since March 2026, could take months or even years to resolve, while Xiomara's health continues to deteriorate inside the detention center.
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