The Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugás posted a strong message on Instagram questioning the immigration policy of President Donald Trump, stating that the promise to target only criminals and delinquents does not align with the reality of the massive ICE detentions.
"Where is what President Trump said about going after criminals and offenders? Now, out of the 10,000, the majority have no criminal record," the boxer wrote on Instagram.
The trigger was immediate and personal: Ugás recounted that, while he was at the place where he washes his car, he witnessed ICE agents taking away a group of humble workers who, as he described, were decent people fulfilling their work and legal obligations.
"All those infamous and inhumane prisons are filled with decent and hard-working people, many making money at the expense of the suffering of human beings," he denounced, also pointing to the business surrounding the private detention system.
The statement comes amid an unprecedented escalation of ICE operations, which exceeded 10,000 arrests in just five days at the end of June and the beginning of July 2026, doubling its usual arrest rate to reach a peak of 2,400 arrests in a single day.
According to TRAC Immigration, an independent data analysis center at Syracuse University, by April 2026, over 70% of those detained by ICE had no criminal convictions.
The figure contradicts the narrative with which the Trump administration justified mass deportations, focused on targeting offenders and criminals.
Ugás directed part of his message to the Cuban community in exile, reminding them that they too left their countries "in pursuit of a dream" and that they benefited from the privileges of the Cuban Adjustment Act, legislation that has historically facilitated the immigration regularization of Cubans in the United States.
"That person left one day from their home, from their country, pursuing a dream just like you, and if you are Cuban, you were fortunate enough to have a powerful law that you probably didn't even respect," they wrote candidly.
The boxer was emphatic in distancing his stance from any indifference towards other migrants, despite his differences with them: "But that doesn't lead me to say, 'They asked for it.'"
Ugás also emphasized his journey as a committed exile from day one, recalling that he escaped from Cuba on a boat after spending two days at sea and that he never ceased to publicly condemn the dictatorship.
"I have behaved like an exile since day one, condemning the dictatorship, speaking out against it, and being the best fighter of my generation in Cuba. I escaped in a small boat, spending two days at sea because of the dictatorship," he stated.
This is not the first time the boxer has raised his voice on this issue. In April 2025, Ugás denounced the deportation of his own mother, Heydi Sánchez Tejeda, who was detained in Tampa during a routine appointment with ICE and sent back to Cuba without a criminal record, separated from her nursing daughter and her husband, a U.S. citizen.
On that occasion, he used the same argument: "It has always been said that criminals and delinquents would be pursued, not hardworking and decent people."
Ugás closed his message on Saturday with a phrase that summarizes his position: "Our wine is bitter, but it is our wine."
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