Related videos:
A Cuban citizen sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material was arrested on July 1 by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Jersey, after remaining in the United States despite having a deportation order in effect since 2022.
The Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office of ICE in Newark reported the arrest through its official account on the social media platform X. According to the agency, Fidel Rodríguez Lemus remained in U.S. territory after serving a sentence imposed by the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for child pornography production and conspiracy to commit that crime.
The court sentenced him to 180 months of federal imprisonment (15 years), one of the most severe mandatory minimum penalties set forth by U.S. law for this type of crime.
After serving his prison sentence, Rodríguez Lemus was transferred to immigration custody. According to the Shore News Network, he remains in detention by ICE while the procedures for executing his deportation are underway.
His arrest was part of a series of operations conducted by the ERO office in Newark between late June and early July, targeting immigrants with serious criminal records.
On June 30, agents arrested Guatemalan citizen Antonio Ventura-Pérez, who is facing an outstanding charge of aggravated domestic violence in Plainfield, New Jersey, and remains in custody while his immigration process is underway.
One day later, on July 1, Mexican citizen Jorge Vega-Meza was also arrested. He had previously been convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and interstate transportation to facilitate organized crime activities.
The arrests of Cubans with criminal records are on the rise
The case of Rodríguez Lemus adds to a series of arrests of Cuban citizens with records for serious crimes carried out this year by the ERO office in Newark, amidst the tightening of immigration policy by the administration of President Donald Trump against immigrants with criminal backgrounds.
The strategy gained momentum following the agreement reached between Cuba and the United States in February 2026 to resume deportation flights, which for the first time in decades include Cubans convicted of serious crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
Since then, Washington has deported more than 612 Cuban citizens on 18 flights conducted during the first five months of the year. In total, since January 2025, more than 4,883 Cubans have been deported, while over 42,000 continue to remain in the United States with final removal orders pending execution.
Filed under: