José Antonio González, a 51-year-old Cuban deported to Mexico in early December 2025 after 38 years in the United States, described the conditions of the ICE detention center in Texas where he was held for six months as “horrible”: food with worms, degrading treatment, and inadequate medical care.
"The food is terrible, because sometimes even worms come inside the food," González recounted in an interview. When asked how he would summarize his experience at the center, he was straightforward: "Horrible. The food is really bad, the treatment is really bad. And the medical care is also really bad."
During those six months, González was temporarily moved to the SAI for four days before being returned to the main center. He says that being confined reminded him of his time in prison: "It reminded me of when I was in prison. And nothing, just trying to get out to continue my life in the United States, because I can't adapt here."
His words align with a documented pattern in detention centers in Texas. At Fort Bliss/Camp East Montana in El Paso, federal inspectors found more than 60 violations of federal standards, three deaths have been reported since its opening in August 2025, and there have been testimonies of beatings to coerce the signing of voluntary deportations.
In Dilley, Texas, detained families also reported worms and mold in the food.
González arrived in the United States at the age of nine, in 1987, crossing the border from Canada. His entire school and work life took place there. He worked as a house painter for 18 years and then at Home Depot and Lowe's. He was the breadwinner for his 82-year-old mother, his wife, and his children, all of whom are U.S. citizens.
"For me, that is my country. I left Cuba at the age of nine and I was there," he stated. He went further: "I am more American than Cuban, yes."
Now in Mexico, he acknowledges that the country "is not bad," but insists that he is struggling to adapt. "It's a very harsh change," he explained, also pointing out the high cost of living and low salaries as factors that exacerbate his sense of uprootedness.
His deportation occurred under the I-220B form, a migratory supervision order. Immigration lawyer Willy Allen confirmed that in those cases there was no viable legal recourse: “The I-220B, which was your case, had no options available. In other words, it didn't matter whether you paid a lawyer or not because there was nothing to be done in those cases.”
ICE summoned him three times. In the first two, he refused to sign his voluntary deportation. On the third, the agents were direct: “Sign or don’t sign, willingly or unwillingly, you’re leaving.” One night, they transported him by bus to the border, handed him over to Mexican authorities, and he was taken for 36 hours to Tabasco, where they released him in the early morning.
The case of González is not an isolated one. According to a report by Human Rights Watch published in May 2026, more than 4,353 Cubans were deported to Mexico between January 20, 2025, and March 9, 2026, approximately 37% of whom were specifically detained in Texas.
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