Related videos:
Emilio Nieves, a Cuban asylum seeker residing in the Orlando area of Florida, was detained by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while working as a truck driver and was deported to Cuba on May 21, according to a public statement from his partner.
The family claims that Nieves had no criminal record in the United States and that her immigration case was still under legal dispute at the time of deportation, with a habeas corpus petition filed in federal court.
The detention and the deportation
Nieves was arrested by ICE during his workday while driving a truck, without any criminal history that would justify the action, according to those close to him.
His partner publicly challenged the decision of the immigration authorities and stated that "his case is still in legal dispute," according to Univision Orlando.
The family is now demanding that a federal judge review the case and order Nieves' return to the United States.
Habeas Corpus and Its Legal Limits
The writ of habeas corpus allows one to challenge the legality of a detention before a federal court, but it does not automatically revoke a deportation order.
Legal experts warn that, in some cases, "the filing of a habeas may lead ICE to expedite deportation," as noted by the National Institute for Justice for Immigrants and Political Refugees.
In Nieves' case, the deportation was carried out before the court could act on the appeal submitted, raising questions about whether ICE ignored the ongoing judicial process.
In contrast, on May 20, Federal Judge Kyle C. Dudek ordered the release of the Cuban Mauricio Castellanos-Gorra, who had been detained by ICE for nearly seven months, through a habeas corpus ruling based on the precedent Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which limits prolonged detention when deportation is not reasonably foreseeable.
A recurring pattern
Nieves' case is not isolated. Detentions of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between late 2024 and late 2025, and by November of that year, the Department of Homeland Security had recorded 42,084 Cubans with final deportation orders in the U.S. immigration system.
In just the first five months of 2026, there were 612 direct repatriations of Cubans to Cuba across 18 operations. On May 22, a day after Nieves' deportation, another 76 Cubans were sent to the Island.
Florida is the state with the highest number of Cuban detentions, with 708 cases recorded until December 2025, primarily concentrated in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Collier counties.
No criminal record, yet deported all the same
A report by Human Rights Watch published on May 27, titled “They Leave Us Here to Die”, documented that more than 4,300 Cubans were deported to Mexico between January 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026.
According to that report, 26% of Cubans sent to Mexico had no criminal record in the United States, a profile that matches Nieves'.
HRW also noted that many deportations were carried out without individualized assessments and that neither the United States nor Mexico has made public the agreement under which these repatriations are executed.
The Cuban regime, which had historically refused to accept deportees with serious criminal records, accepted for the first time in February 2026 to receive such deportees, broadening the pool of Cubans who could be sent directly to the island and speeding up the pace of repatriation flights.
The family of Emilio Nieves is now awaiting a response from the federal court in a case that highlights the cracks in a system where deportation can occur before justice has the chance to intervene.
Filed under: