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Tania Romero Naranjo, a 24-year-old Cuban native of the Isle of Youth, was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 26 while attending a routine supervision appointment.
A recent report by Univision journalist Javier Díaz specified that Romero Naranjo resides in the city of Portland, Texas, has been in the country for four years, and entered the United States with the I-220A form, a document that - as is known - does not grant definitive legal status nor is equivalent to a parole, leaving its holders in a permanent immigration limbo.
A working mother separated from her child
The case has a human component that has touched hundreds of people since it became known: the young woman is the mother of a three-year-old boy who is a U.S. citizen and, since her mother's detention, has been left in the care of his father.
Díaz described the husband as “desperate in the face of this family crisis” and emphasized that during her four years in the country, Tania had no criminal record and held a high-risk job.
Until the moment of her arrest, the young woman was working with fireproof materials to prevent fires in oil refineries, a task that, according to the journalist, "not all women would dare to undertake."
The family demands that she not be deported to Cuba or, at the very least, that she be allowed to await the result of her immigration process in freedom.
“The family needs to be heard and Tania should not be deported to Cuba as it would separate her from her American citizen son,” concluded the spokesperson.
Díaz's post generated an avalanche of reactions dominated by solidarity.
"Deport those who commit crimes, but not hard-working individuals with no records," wrote a user, reflecting a stance shared by hundreds of similar comments.
Others pointed to the structural root: "The problem is that many were poorly processed; that left them in a very difficult legal limbo."
The limbo of the I-220A: A problem affecting hundreds of thousands of Cubans.
The I-220A form is a Recognizance Order issued by ICE that allows migrants to remain out of custody while their case progresses, but it does not provide a path under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, which enables individuals to apply for permanent residency after one year and one day in the country.
It is estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 Cubans are facing this situation throughout the United States, trapped in a category that does not provide real protection against deportation.
Since the return of the Trump administration in January 2025, arrests during routine appointments have become a documented pattern.
The detentions of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between late 2024 and early 2026, and the agency surpassed 10,000 detentions in just five days earlier this month.
Political pressure without response and similar cases
Tania's case is not an isolated one.
In May, ICE arrested two Cuban pastors in Harlingen, Texas during a supervision appointment.
The Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar sent a formal letter on June 18 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, demanding parole-in-place for Cubans with I-220A and no criminal records.
"The I-220A should not mean legal limbo. For years, thousands of Cuban families have lived in uncertainty because the government has treated similar cases differently. That is not justice, and I will continue to fight until these families receive the fair treatment they deserve under the law," Salazar stated.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta held a hearing in December 2025 regarding the legal status of the I-220A, but as of now, it has not issued a final ruling, leaving hundreds of thousands of Cuban families awaiting a decision that could change their fate.
As of the publication of this note, there is no additional information regarding the case.
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